Into the Dark
by zerodawn22
Summary: Ever since being rescued from Malfoy Manor, Hermione seems... off. This culminates in her betraying the Order at the Battle of Hogwarts and joining the now triumphant Death Eaters while her friends are left to Azkaban or living in the margins of society. Is Hermione lost to the Dark Side forever? Or is there more to it? DarkHermione... Or is it? Eventual Fleurmione.
1. Introduction

_**A/N: I finished a couple of stories so thought I could finally have a go with something that I've recently got into- Hermione behaving all dark! Anyway, suggestions welcome, I'm open to where this one goes x**_

* * *

 **Introduction**

* * *

Harry led the group as they kicked down doors in Malfoy Manor, searching frantically for Hermione. His wand was raised and he was ready to hex anyone in his way into next week. He could feel the anger radiating off Ron at his side similarly.

The Order had prevented them from returning to save Hermione from Malfoy Manor, even after Harry and Ron had explained the horrible screams they had heard as Hermione had been tortured upstairs. Not that Harry wasn't grateful that Dobby had apparated the prisoners out of the basement, he just wished that Hermione had been rescued as well.

Hermione was the closest thing he had to a sister, and as the days and nights had passed waiting for an opening to return to the Manor, his heart had broken at the thought of her torture continuing while he laid up in a comfy bed in Shell Cottage with the others.

"Only one room left," Lupin barked, cutting Harry abruptly from his thoughts. Lupin always looked exhausted, but since Bill had been killed in a Death Eater raid he looked positively dead on his feet. He had been trying to carry the load of both his and Bill's work for the Order and it showed on his face and his progressively greying hair.

"Ready?" Ron said, gripping his wand so tightly his knuckles were white.

Harry kicked down the door.

The group stormed the room, checking blind spots before lowering their wands. Harry was confused.

"Hermione?"

The room was a very large and exquisite bedroom, complete with a lavish four poster bed. Sitting up in the middle of the four poster bed, rubbing her eyes sleepily with tousled hair, was Hermione.

"Oh, hi guys," Hermione said sleepily, yawning and stretching. Ron immediately ran up and hugged Hermione tightly, relieved that she appeared unharmed.

"Hermione? What happened?" Harry said, exchanging an uneasy look with Lupin.

"I suppose they got tired of torturing me," Hermione said as dismissively as if she was discussing the week's weather, "Are we going to be getting out of here?"

"Erm, yeah…" Harry said, confused, "We'll just leave you to get changed." Harry shot Lupin a meaningful look and the men left the room to wait in the hallway.

"Merlin's balls, I can't tell you guys how relieved I am that she's okay!" Ron gasped as soon as the door shut.

"Don't you think it's a bit… off?" Harry asked, "When we left she was being tortured within an inch of her life and now she's… lounging around in bed?"

"I have to say it is a little disturbing," Lupin replied, "Especially how cavalier she was about the torture… But her scent tells me that it is definitely our Hermione."

"Maybe they did a memory charm on her?" Ron suggested.

"That's one possibility," Lupin replied, "We will have to interview her when we get back to the safe-house."

The curiousness continued as they arrived at Grimmauld Place. Hermione rolled her eyes at the portrait screeching about her Mudblood status, before picking up a knife, plunging it into the portrait and slashing diagonally until it was ruined.

"Bit intense, mate," Ron commented, raising his eyebrows. Hermione just shrugged.

Lupin spent the whole evening interrogating Hermione, trying to get to the bottom of her behaviour. But as he ruled out memory charms, imperiuses and a whole host of other options, he slowly came to the conclusion that it was not magic. It appeared as if Hermione had just adopted an uncaring and dark temperament after sustaining such prolonged torture. Although, that still didn't explain why she was lounging in one of the elaborate bedrooms. Lupin bit his lip.

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time to ponder it further, being late for checking in at Shell Cottage. He bid the trio good luck on their hunt for horcruxes and hugged each of them tightly, making sure to tell Hermione to look after herself.

* * *

Ron was hardly the most observant man, but even he had noticed that something was off about Hermione. In his mind, he had assumed that once they had resumed their hunt for the horcruxes, she would snap out of it, and resume her usual goodie two shoes demeanour. But she hadn't. She remained… distant. Ron didn't know what to make of it.

But he didn't have time to dwell on it. Before he knew it, they were at Hogwarts and a furious fight was breaking out around them.

"We need to find the horcruxes!" Harry shouted, and took off at a run. Ron went to give chase but froze when he noticed that Hermione was standing completely still, an odd smile playing at her lips.

"Hermione, you okay?" Ron asked, confused. Hermione's smile grew.

"Forgive me, Ronald," Hermione grinned, lifting her wand.

Everything went black for Ron.


	2. The New Status Quo

**Chapter One: The New Status Quo**

* * *

Harry awoke to a throbbing in his head. He rolled over on the cold concrete floor, wincing at the pain in his body as he did so. He opened his eyes blearily, seeing his glasses with a cracked lens not far from where he was lying. As he pulled them on, he became aware of his surroundings.

Harry was lying in a very small cell. There were three concrete walls and one wall of bars. There was a very minimally stuffed dirty mattress in one corner with a tattered blanket. He groaned and sat up, becoming aware that he was clad in some tattered grey pants and a matching grey top.

"Harry?"

Harry crawled painfully over to the bars at the front of his small cell. He became aware of a cell across from his in the dim light.

"Luna, is that you?" Harry croaked, recognising the long white-blonde hair.

"Yeah," Luna replied, moving to sit beside the bars of her cell so they were as close as they could be, "I'm so glad you're okay, you've been out of it for so long I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it."

"What happened? What happened at the battle at Hogwarts? Where are the others?" Harry asked, rubbing his still aching head. He paused when he noticed the look of sadness on Luna's face.

"Hermione. She took out you and Ron. She betrayed the Order," Luna said through uncharacteristically gritted teeth, her voice shaking with anger.

"What?!" Harry yelped, completely shocked. Luna hushed him with a hiss.

"Quiet or the Dementors will come past, its awful when they do," Luna said hastily. Harry became aware that Luna was dressed in an all grey outfit too, and a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Are we… Are we in Azkaban?" Harry asked, eyes widening.

"Yeah…" Luna said, her face very still, "They won, Harry."

* * *

Fleur smoothed her skirt and fixed her hair, affixing a fake smile on her face for the evening. She would be waitressing the big Ministry gala. Odd jobs like these were the best she could do under the Ministry's new policies for mixed-blood individuals like herself. But she supposed she could fare worse, Veelas at least appeared to have a better time than other half-blooded individuals. She cringed at the memory of what had happened to Hagrid and Madame Maxime.

"Delacour, get out there, the guests will be getting impatient!" Stanley Shunpike barked, handing her a silver platter of champagne flutes. Sighing, Fleur took the platter and headed through the double doors to the ballroom.

The chatter was deafening, accompanied by the warm background music of an orchestra. As many of these gigs as she did, Fleur could just not get used to a room full of people openly baring their Dark Marks. Thankfully, it did not appear as if the Dark Lord himself was in attendance tonight, but Fleur made sure to steer to the opposite side of the room to where Bellatrix Lestrange was. She had heard horrible stories about the way Bellatrix would torture part-blooded staff at events such as these.

"Oi, Delacour," drawled a familiar voice and Fleur inwardly scowled, outwardly ensuring her smile was still in place.

"Bonsoir, Monsieur Malfoy," Fleur said politely, offering drinks to the small group of Draco, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle.

"I'm surprised they haven't relegated your type to being some sort of house-elf," Pansy smirked. It was moments like this that Fleur was thankful for her ability to hide her reactions.

The group took their drinks greedily from the tray and Fleur was relieved that she could continue on her way without further incident from them.

Fleur made the rounds of the room, trying to ignore the sinking in her stomach as she listened to the Death Eaters chatting happily about the takeover of the Ministry and further plans of the Dark Lord.

Finally, her tray was empty. She smiled genuinely at this. This meant that now she just had to collect as many empty glasses as she could and then she could head back to the kitchen for a momentary break. Her heels were killing her and it was depressing working Ministry events.

She spotted a small table with a number of empty glasses and made a beeline for it, placing down her silver tray and beginning to place glasses on it. She had just about finished when she suddenly felt a hand on her ass. Gritting her teeth she forced herself to hide the reaction on her face. If she wasn't at a Ministry event surrounded by hundreds of Death Eaters right now, she would hex this bastard into next week. She turned around, only to come face to face with the smirking face of Hermione Granger.

"Hermione?" Fleur asked, momentarily letting her guard down and showing her surprise.

"Delacour, still looking hot as ever," Hermione drawled, eying Fleur up and down. Fleur was shocked. She had heard stories about Hermione going to the dark side, but she had never actually seen Hermione herself since before the Trio had left for their horcrux hunt. Hermione was lighting up a cigarette.

"You can't smoke in here," Fleur said, holding back the hundreds of other comments bursting to come out of her mouth.

"Actually, I think you'll find I can do whatever I want," Hermione replied, smirking again. As she lowered her cigarette to exhale a plume of smoke, Fleur saw the Dark Mark prominently on her arm.

"You know they all hate Muggle-Borns," Fleur said, her eyes transfixed by the Mark.

"I think you'll find I'm the exception," Hermione drawled, before taking another drag from her cigarette.

"What happened to you at Malfoy Manor?" Fleur said, one of her burning questions bursting forth unexpectedly. Hermione silently smoked, watching Fleur with an unreadable expression.

"Bellatrix showed me the light," Hermione said, stubbing out her cigarette on the silver tray.

"This isn't the real you, Hermione," Fleur tried to reason. It was as if Hermione had undergone a complete brain transplant. She couldn't reconcile her image of the reserved and heroic bookworm with this sneering Hermione in front of her.

"Happy to show you the _real me_ any time you want, Delacour," Hermione smirked, grabbing Fleur's ass again before walking slowly off. Fleur frowned. Something wasn't right.

She watched as Hermione approached Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy, kissing them each on the cheek before chatting animatedly with them. Fleur almost dropped her tray at this sight. She saw Hermione gesture her way and hurriedly picked up her tray and headed in the direction of the kitchen. Hermione copping a feel was one thing, Bellatrix subjecting her to a cruciatus curse for the entertainment of the party was quite another.

* * *

Ginny awoke from a light doze as the door shut loudly. She sat up on her small, springy cot, grabbing her wand from under her pillow in case it was a raid.

"Oh its just you," she sighed, as Fleur entered their tiny one-bedroom lodgings.

"Where's Neville?" Fleur asked, sitting on an identical cot right beside Ginny's and sighing as she released herself from her heels.

"Still at work," Ginny sighed, leaning back against the wall.

While Ginny and Neville were pure-blooded, their affiliation with Harry and the Order had rendered their status in public as damning as Fleur's. Although, Ginny had to be thankful that at least they hadn't ended up in Azkaban or dead, like a lot of the other participants from their side.

"I saw Hermione at the Ministry gala," Fleur said, leaning back on her bed. It was funny, before the war, Ginny and Fleur had always been at each other's throats. But now, in their cramped quarters with Neville, they were quite close confidantes.

"Did she talk to you?" Ginny said, her face clouding with anger. None of them had seen Hermione since the Battle of Hogwarts, but news of her betrayal had reached them all.

"More than that," Fleur said darkly, explaining how Hermione had grabbed her ass and stubbed out her cigarette on her drinks tray. Ginny looked mad enough to punch a wall.

"That fucking _bitch_ ," Ginny spat, "Did you call her out on it?"

Fleur shook her head, "Gin, we can barely pick up enough work to keep the lights on in this absolute shack, I can't afford to."

"Did she talk to you about Voldemort?"

"Non. But she did say Bellatrix had made her see the light." Fleur said with a frown. This time Ginny really did punch the wall.

"What the hell?! I still can't get over Hermione turning on us all like this," Ginny exclaimed.

"Me neither," Fleur admitted, getting changed and lying back on her small, rickety bed, "Something seemed off though. Do you think she's under an imperius?"

"Lupin checked her over for all that, remember?" Ginny answered, "Although Merlin knows I wish there was a hope that the old Hermione was still in there somewhere."

* * *

There was a knock at the door, waking Ginny again. She grumbled. If Neville had forgotten his keys _again_ , she was going to clock him one. But as she got up, she saw Neville asleep in his cot on the other side of Fleur's.

She frowned, she hadn't even heard him come in last night. They must have kept him working very late in the mines. She crossed their small room and made it to the the door. She remembered when the three of them had first moved into this one-room hovel Fleur had joked that it was open plan.

Ginny smiled faintly at the memory as she opened the door.

"Wotcher," Stan Shunpike grunted. Ginny's stomach sank a little at that, it always reminded her of Tonks, who had died in the Battle of Hogwarts.

"Do you ever sleep, Stan?" Ginny said, standing back to let him into the room. Stan had dark circles under his eyes. Ginny knew he had been working the Ministry event with Fleur last night and had still been there when she had left for the night.

"In this economy?" Stan joked as Ginny whipped up some tea for them in a couple of chipped mugs.

"What brings you here?" Ginny asked as they sat on the floor under a cracked window.

"McGonagall sent this via the kitchens last night," Stan said, producing a scrap of parchment from his pocket, "Spose owls are getting too risky for you lot."

While Stan wasn't a member of the Order, preferring to keep his head down in the current climate, he was willing to help them out as much as he could.

"Thanks, Stan," Ginny said, unfurling the note immediately. She nodded at its contents before producing her wand and incinerating it immediately.

"Take it you won't be needing work this evening then?" Stan said with a half-interested look. Ginny nodded.

"Other plans afoot," she said distractedly, looking over at her sleeping companions in the corner.

"You really think its capable of turning around?" Stan said, draining the last of his mug. Ginny fixed him with an intense look.

"We've got to at least try."


	3. Shadows

**Chapter Two: Shadows**

* * *

Neville pulled his cloak closer around himself against the cold night air.

"Reckon this is how the Death Eaters used to feel before the war? Sneaking round in the shadows?" he said, leaning against the wet alleyway wall.

"I would kill for a Malfoy Manor instead of our current living situation," Fleur commented darkly. The French beauty had never quite got used to living rough after the Battle of Hogwarts. Jibes aside, they all knew how lucky they were to be alive and free, at least as free as they could be under current laws. Given their well-known connections to the Golden Trio, it was mind blowing that they hadn't been rounded up with the rest of the Order affiliated members. Perhaps Hermione had simply not bothered to elaborate on the full extent that the three of them had played in the war.

"Mess this up and we might be upgraded to accommodation in Azkaban with Harry and the others," Ginny said warningly as the three of them watched the street from the safety of the alley shadows.

Since the tightening of laws, portkeys had been heavily regulated. In fact, all registered portkeys had been locked down in the building just across the street from where the three Order members waited now. McGonagall, ever-present via notes despite having been missing since the Battle of Hogwarts, had a hunch that getting their hands on a portkey might be just the ticket to releasing the majority of the Order who remained behind bars in Azkaban.

"Okay, I think it's about quiet enough," Neville commented, confirmed with a nod from Fleur and Ginny. He produced a small lighter, inherited from Ron before his trial, and began to click it. Gradually, the street lights were taken out and the entire street was bathed in darkness.

"We meet back at home," Fleur reminded quietly, "If things go badly, just get out."

In silence, the three of them crossed. It was pre-determined that Fleur would take the back of the building, Ginny the side, and Neville would sneak in through the front. A three pronged attack that would raise their likelihood of success.

"Good luck, girls," Neville said with a grim smile, before jumping the fence and disappearing out of sight.

Ginny and Fleur continued in silence around the side of the building.

"Remember, watch out for any wards or curses on the building," Ginny said as they paused. Fleur smiled.

"I was a curse-breaker once upon a time," Fleur reminded.

"I know," Ginny said, with a small smile, "Just be careful, okay?"

Fleur nodded as Ginny disappeared over the side fence. She continued on in silence around the back of the building, drawing her cloak closer.

She reached the back entrance, rubbing her hands together against the cold and pondering her chances of getting straight over the fence and straight through the door without incident.

"What brings a Veela to my neck of the woods?" a cold voice rang out. Fleur felt the hair on the back of her neck raise as she turned around to face the source of the question.

Narcissa Malfoy stood smoking by a street light, clad in an expensive fur coat.

"Needed some fresh air," Fleur said, putting on her best unreadable expression, "Its not a crime to go for a walk at night?"

Narcissa threw her cigarette on the ground and walked over to Fleur.

"Might soon be for your kind," she said in a low and dangerous voice.

"Did you need something?" Fleur said politely, trying to change the subject. She needed to keep Narcissa distracted lest she realise that Fleur was not the only one lurking around the building.

"I'm wondering why the street lights have all gone out," Narcissa said in a silky voice, turning her aristocratic features to look at the dark street lights.

"Perhaps the Ministry should spend more time on utilities and less on blood-status," Fleur said, rather riskily, although she knew Narcissa did not have the same violent reputation as her sister, Bellatrix.

"I'm curious, though… The street lights go out and then I find a Veela loitering on the streets. Perhaps there is a connection?" Narcissa drawled, eying Fleur with her dark eyes. She stepped forward and Fleur instinctively stepped backwards until her back hit the brick wall behind her.

"Stranger coincidences have happened," Fleur said as dismissively as she could muster. Narcissa watched her very carefully, silent for a moment.

"Granger wasn't lying when she described your allure," Narcissa said with a drawl, raising a hand to play with a stray lock of Fleur's hair. Fleur felt a pang of danger.

"Well, it takes a lot of beauty sleep," Fleur said with a cold smile, "And speaking of, I should probably be on my way." She went to move away but Narcissa caught her arm in a deceptively strong, perfectly manicured hand.

"Not so fast, Veela…" Narcissa hissed.

"Narcissa." A voice called out from across the street. Narcissa loosened her grip on Fleur and they both looked to see Hermione standing across the street.

"I found your delectable little friend here sniffing around," Narcissa explained as Hermione walked over to them. Hermione looked thinner, more toned, more villainous. Her hair still hung in bushy curls but she was dressed all in black, giving her a menacing vibe.

"Bellatrix wants to see you," Hermione interrupted with an uncaring tone.

"We can't just have half-breeds creeping around the place," Narcissa countered. Hermione crossed her arms.

"I'll deal with her. Bellatrix wants to see you. Now." Hermione said more firmly. Narcissa looked incredibly put out but nodded, releasing Fleur. With a _crack_ she disapparated, leaving Fleur alone with Hermione.

"Bonsoir, Hermione," Fleur said, feigning innocence, "I was just on my way myself," she went to walk away but Hermione caught her arm.

"I know you're not on an evening stroll," Hermione said menacingly, and Fleur was alarmed by the dark glitter of her eyes.

"Hermione…" Fleur began, but Hermione put a finger on her lips to silence her.

"Send my best to Neville and Ginny," Hermione said quietly, before stepping away and beginning to walk away quickly, her dark cloak billowing behind her.

Fleur stood against the wall, confused. Hermione stopped as she crossed the street, turning back to Fleur.

"And don't say I never did anything for you, Delacour." Hermione smirked, before disapparating in a cloud of dark smoke.

* * *

Neville sat on the floor, scratching the stubble at his chin.

"And she just let you go?" he asked again, quizzically.

"Oui, after saying to send her best to you and Ginny." Fleur replied.

Her, Neville and Ginny were sitting cross-legged on the dirty floor of their dwelling, looking at the innocent looking portkeys in front of them.

"I don't trust it," Ginny said immediately. She was a characteristic Weasley in the sense that once crossed, she did not give anyone another chance to cross her.

"So what do we do?" Neville asked.

"We get this portkey out as soon as possible before Hermione can thwart things again," Ginny said darkly. She picked up a dirty chicken bone.

"I think that one will look the most innocent being flown in by a bird," Fleur agreed, "Particularly if we use a non-owl."

"I've got to get back into the mines tomorrow if we want to make rent," Neville said, "But we can arrange for them to come through after that?"

"Yeah, we need to keep the rent paid if we want to remain under the radar," Ginny agreed, "I'll get out the portkey and note first thing."

* * *

Harry squinted against the brightness of outside. They only had one one-hour session outside a day, supposedly for exercise. He laughed hollowly at the thought of them actually caring about their health.

The meals were so sparse here that they were all already skin and bones. Harry felt much like Sirius had looked when he had first met him in third year. His hair had grown greasy and long, down to his neck. He had a scruffy beard.

He sat down on the dust bowl excuse for a yard, weak after walking just twenty steps out there. Ron and Luna came to sit beside him.

"D'you think it's the Dementors or the lack of food that's the most tiring?" Ron said. His eyes were sunken into his face and his hair looked brown with dirtiness.

"I'd imagine it's the Gurkles," Luna said dreamily. Her dreaminess had got far worse since coming to Azkaban. Harry genuinely worried that she had lost her already tentative grip on reality.

There was a cawing and a crow flapped down to land in the middle of them.

"Is this an omen that the Dementor's are gonna finish us off?" Ron said darkly. Harry recoiled from the crow for a minute before noticing a small note and a chicken bone tied to the crow. Looking around cautiously, he untied them before pulling out the note.

He tried to hide the excited and wild grin that flashed on his face for a moment.

"What is it?" Ron asked weakly. Harry descended into a hacking attack of coughs. He emerged breathless afterwards.

"Tomorrow at exercise yard time," he said excitedly.

* * *

Fleur sighed heavily as she picked up a tray of hors d'ouevres to take out to the luncheon. She just knew that being another upper crust function she would have to endure more Death Eater bullshit. She calmed herself with the fact that at least they would be having a big win for the Order soon. Only one more day and they would have the imprisoned back among them.

Fleur ignored Narcissa's intense gaze as she set about roaming the room. Thankfully, Bellatrix was not in attendance today so she didn't have to worry about violence erupting. About a month ago a werewolf waiter had lost a hand at a seemingly innocuous brunch such as this.

"Delacour," a cold familiar voice called out. Fleur turned to see Hermione waving her over.

"Hors d'ouevres?" Fleur offered flatly.

"What, no thank you for letting you continue your night stroll?" Hermione smirked.

"We have salmon or vegetarian," Fleur pressed on, ignoring Hermione's question.

"What could your little motley crew be wanting with a portkey, anyway?" Hermione asked dangerously, causing the fake smile to fall off Fleur's face momentarily.

"I do not know what you are talking about," Fleur said carefully.

"Don't you remember me, Fleur?" Hermione said mockingly, "I'm the brightest witch of my age?"

"Why did you let me go last night?" Fleur asked, narrowing her eyes. She wasn't sure what to make of Hermione these days.

"Maybe I wanted to help," Hermione said dismissively, "Maybe I wanted to set you up for bigger failure… Or maybe I just wanted to keep you around these dreadfully boring events for a little longer," She added teasingly, eying Fleur up and down.

"Why did you betray Harry at the Battle of Hogwarts?" Fleur asked, getting sick of Hermione's cryptic behaviour.

"I remember you at Hogwarts, Fleur," Hermione said with a smirk, "Always complaining about the cold and the décor at the Triwizard Tournament."

"That was a long time ago, Hermione," Fleur said defensively.

"I wonder how a _Delacour_ is dealing with far more meagre accommodation and job prospects?" Hermione smirked. Fleur sighed and turned away.

She began to walk away but was stopped by Narcissa Malfoy.

"If it isn't the Veela who was skulking around the other night," Narcissa said menacingly, selecting a morsel from the tray Fleur was bearing.

Fleur smiled tightly and went to continue walking. Narcissa stopped her again and Fleur paled.

"Relax, Veela, I'm far more gentle than my sister," Narcissa said, breaking into a predatory smile.

"Actually, she was just getting me another drink," Hermione said, interrupting the two. Narcissa looked from Fleur to Hermione for a second before stepping out of Fleur's way.

* * *

Fleur was walking home after work when she turned to take her usual alleyway shortcut. Leaning against the wall of the alleyway was Hermione, still in her dark robes from the luncheon and smoking a cigarette. The shadows were playing at her high cheekbones.

"Hermione?" Fleur said carefully, taking her wand out.

"Relax, princess, I don't bite," Hermione drawled, taking another drag of her cigarette.

"Why did you save me from Narcissa back there?" Fleur asked, as Hermione stepped towards her.

"Morality? Boredom?" Hermione smirked as she got closer to Fleur, "Jealousy?"

She threw her cigarette on the ground. Her face was so close to Fleur's it was almost touching her.

"Who's side are you on…?" Fleur said softly, barely above a whisper. Hermione smiled slowly, moving even closer to Fleur until their bodies were just about touching, she moved her lips to lightly brush Fleur's ear.

"Be careful," Hermione whispered, before drawing back.

Fleur looked at her, completely baffled before Hermione smirked again, disapparating in a cloud of black smoke.

Fleur stood at where Hermione had just stood, feeling a mixture of emotions. She couldn't tell if Hermione was really the hateful traitor anymore or something else… It seemed almost as if Hermione was trying to protect her and warn her. The most confusing part of all for Fleur was the slight thrill that had run through her as Hermione had whispered in her ear.


	4. Break

Ginny shivered as they stood in the field, waiting with Neville and Fleur. McGonagall had somehow managed to get another note out, this one to Neville, informing them that they were to meet Shacklebolt in a clearing just outside the woods.

But Ginny was on edge after Fleur had told her about her latest run in with Hermione. She definitely knew that they had been after portkeys that night. But how much more did she know?

Agitated, Ginny kicked at the uneven ground, tensing her grip on her wand.

"Are you absolutely sure we should be following through with this?" Fleur said from her side, even more agitated than Ginny.

Shacklebolt, like McGonagall, was a highly wanted member of the Order, having been in hiding since the Battle of Hogwarts. If they were to be caught with Shacklebolt, smuggling _escaped prisoners_ , they were bound to be next on the wanted list.

Neville and Ginny had been lucky that they had remained at Hogwarts during much of the pre-war activities and had not featured prominently in the Battle at Hogwarts. Fleur herself was lucky that it had been widely believed she had been in France for much of the war following Bill's death. Still, their known associations with Order members meant that the authorities were always looking for a reason to take them in or raid their quarters.

Neville shivered in the night air, similarly nervous, "Gin, maybe Fleur's right, its risky to go through with this after Hermione told Fleur she knew about the portkeys. McGonagall will understand."

Ginny whirled around to face the other two, fiery anger in her eyes, " _McGonagall_ may understand, but what about _Ron?_ Luna? Harry? Luna's only in there because they caught her with a letter that Harry had meant to send _me!_ "

"Its not your fault," Fleur said softly.

"We're no use to anyone if we get locked up too," Neville added. But Ginny's hands were balled into trembling fists. She whirled on her heel, spotting the broad figure of Shacklebolt in the clearing and immediately strode out from the shadows of the trees.

There was a _whooshing_ noise as a trail of deep black smoke swirled around the clearing, causing Neville to pull Fleur's arm, stopping her from following Ginny. Ginny was now halfway across the clearing, waving to a relieved looking Shacklebolt.

With three instantaneous _cracks_ three dark cloaked figures apparated in the middle of the clearing. Hermione was in the centre, flanked by Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy.

Ginny froze in her tracks, instantly whipping out her wand.

Ginny could hear the drawn out cackle of Bellatrix Lestrange and the hair on the back of her neck rose. Neville pulled at Fleur, dragging them both deeper into the seclusion of the woods.

"We're no use to them dead," he hissed in Fleur's ear.

"Protego!" Ginny called out, deflecting a killing curse from a sneering Bellatrix. The familiar face of Narcissa shot a distasteful look at her. Ginny felt a horrible sinking in her stomach as she met the eyes of her ex-friend Hermione standing behind Narcissa, dressed in black robes like the other Death Eaters. Her eyes were so dark.

Hermione raised her wand at Ginny, who braced herself to cast another protego. But at the last minute, Hermione faked out and shot a green beamed killing spell that hit Shacklebolt directly in the chest.

Ginny screamed, apparating away immediately.

"Quick, we have to get out of here," Neville hissed, beginning to run deeper into the woods. Fleur ran in a different direction, hoping that if either got caught before they could apparate out of earshot, then at least they wouldn't lead the Death Eaters to the other.

Fleur ducked around a tree, gasping loudly as she ran directly into a smirking Hermione. Hermione grabbed her roughly by the arms and Fleur felt the familiar pull at her navel indicating apparation.

* * *

Fleur arrived in a dark alley, whirling around to find it entirely empty apart from her and Hermione.

"Disappointed?" Hermione smirked.

Fleur shoved Hermione, hard.

"You killed Kingsley!" Fleur shouted.

"Oh, 'zanks for saving me, 'Ermione!'" Hermione said in a mock French accent. Fleur ignored her and whirled around, pulling her wand out to cast a _lumos._ Hermione snatched the wand out of Fleur's hand with alarming reflexes.

"Where am I, Hermione?" Fleur said, turning back to Hermione with a frown, "Are you about to kill me too?"

"Relax, you're pretty much home. I got you out of there before one of the Black sisters could see you and connect you to that hideously bungled attempt."

"Why?" Fleur asked, confused again.

"Sorry, do you _want_ to go to Azkaban, Delacour?" Hermione asked snidely.

Fleur looked around the alley again, wondering if Neville had got away safely.

"I would have felt a burning on _this_ " Hermione pointed at her Dark Mark, "if any of them had been caught."

"Erm?" Fleur was surprised.

"You are a terrible Occlumens, Fleur," Hermione explained, "You're lucky you only ever ran into Narcissa out of the Black sisters. Bellatrix is quite an accomplished Legimens."

"When did you learn Legimency?" Fleur asked, surprised that Hermione knew this advanced magical skill.

"Malfoy Manor," Hermione said darkly, and Fleur could see a slight wince in Hermione's face as she uttered the name of the residence.

"Why stop us from helping the others if you were only going to let us get away?" Fleur asked.

"I'd love to help you Fleur, but Harry and Ron are far better off in Azkaban," Hermione said idly, twirling Fleur's wand in her hand.

"Thanks to you, Ginny's no doubt going to end up there too! Malfoy and Lestrange saw her," Fleur said angrily.

"Now, that's all on Ginny and her little temper," Hermione said with a smile, "Besides, she's a Weasley, it was only a matter of time before they pinned something on her to get her there."

"Why help me then?" Fleur said, returning to her original question and furrowing her brow.

"You always thought I hated you," Hermione said, moving closer to Fleur. Fleur leaned against the brick wall, unsure where Hermione was going with this.

"You didn't seem to like me much, yes," Fleur agreed, as Hermione moved even closer to her. Hermione placed a hand on the brick wall beside Fleur's head.

"In reality, I actually quite liked you," Hermione said, her lips dangerously close to Fleur's Fleur could feel her breath brushing her lips, "I know you're not the ice queen they all said you were."

With that, she pushed Fleur's wand into her. Fleur grabbed it, flustered. Hermione gave her a smirk and stepped away.

"Yes, well everyone also said that you were a 'goodie two shoes,'" Fleur replied. Hermione quirked an eyebrow, still smiling.

"You're still put out about Shacklebolt? Fleur, one day you will come to appreciate my methods," Hermione smirked. She stepped away further. "In the meantime, keep yourself out of trouble."

There was another cloud of black smoke and Hermione disapparated.

Fleur exhaled heavily and began walking home. On arriving back home, she saw to her total lack of surprise, that the front door had been kicked in. She fixed it with a flick of her wand and stepped inside. Neville was collecting their things from where they had been strewn around the room.

"Raided our place," Neville grunted, "Ginny's already got wanted posters around the city with her face on them though, I doubt she'll come back here."

"Lucky they didn't see us then," Fleur said grimly. Neville sighed, shaking his head.

* * *

Harry and the others were sitting in a small circle in the exercise yard, off to one corner so as not to attract the attention of the Dementors. They were all staring intently at the dirty chicken bone, failing to notice the figure crossing the yard briskly until a heeled boot stomped down abruptly on the chicken bone.

"What—" Harry snapped his head back to look up at the figure.

"Nice try, Potter," Bellatrix sneered, cackling. Harry leapt to his feet, fuming, balling his hands into fists.

"Fuck you, Bellatrix," Harry spat forcefully, his legs were shaking with weakness. Bellatrix noted this with a smirk.

"I see they are treating you as well as they treated me, Potter," she laughed, "Get used to it, you're here for the long haul."

With that, she whirled on her heel and strode off, continuing to cackle. Harry sank to his knees, depressed and exhausted.

"I don't know much much longer of this I can take," he groaned. Luna nodded dreamily and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Gods, if I ever see Hermione again…" Ron said from between gritted teeth.

* * *

Narcissa was filing her nails in front of the fireplace when Bellatrix arrived back home.

"Oh, Cissy," Bellatrix cackled wildly, "You should have seen them there sitting in the dirt! And their little faces when I destroyed the portkey!"

Narcissa smiled serenely at her sister as she joined her in an armchair in front of the fireplace. She didn't even really miss Lucius anymore. He was a foul bastard even at the best of times. Bella was far more entertaining to live with.

"Hermione disappeared as soon as you left," Narcissa said, continuing to file her nails.

"What of it?" Bellatrix asked, leaning back in her armchair and propping her feet up on a footstool. After years in Azkaban, she loved enjoying the luxury of her new lifestyle.

"Don't you think she behaves a little strangely, Bella?" Narcissa said suspiciously. Bella gave her a sideways look.

"I would say we all behave a little strangely at times," she smirked, "What's your point?"

"Are you sure we can trust her?" Narcissa asked. Bellatrix snorted.

"You were there when I tortured her, Cissy," Bellatrix smirked, "She's never going to be that goodie-two-shoes Mudblood again."

"She keeps getting in my way," Narcissa defended, irritated. Bellatrix raised an eyebrow.

"As in with tasks for the Dark Lord?" Bellatrix asked, surprised. Narcissa sighed, frustrated.

"I saw a Veela girl, outside here, I was talking to her and Hermione interrupted," Narcissa explained, "I saw the Veela girl at a luncheon, was about to talk to her again, and Hermione sent her off to fetch a drink."

Bellatrix looked at her for a moment before dissolving into laughter.

"Oh, Cissy! Lucius has been gone for a long time hasn't he?" she cackled, "Don't worry, I'll have a word to Hermione about spoiling your fun. Just don't be too rough with this one, you know she becomes a bit of a downer when we kill mudbloods and half-breeds in front of her."

* * *

Neville finished his cup of tea with Fleur as they prepared to head off to their respective jobs. With Ginny gone, they were needing to work more to cover the rent. This of course was meaning less time for Order tasks, which was playing at both of their nerves.

Neville exhaled heavily, slamming his mug down heavily.

"I just feel like its all becoming a bit hopeless, Fleur," he said miserably.

"The situation isn't hopeless yet," Fleur said encouragingly. She smiled, but she too was feeling stretched thin and depressed since Ginny had gone underground. Neville looked at her, dark circles under his eyes.

"We were _this_ close to having them back, Fleur," he said fiercely, " _This_ close to being able to balance the scales and Hermione ruined it."

"But then she apparated me out of harm's way," Fleur said. Neville squared his jaw.

"After _murdering_ Shacklebolt!" he exclaimed.

"I know… I just think perhaps she is more complex than we initially thought," Fleur suggested. Neville raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"She's a traitor and a murderer and a _Death Eater_ , Fleur! You'd do well to stay away from her!"

With that, Neville stormed out the door to work.

Fleur sighed, making her way to meet Stan and the team for the latest catering job.

"Awright, Fleur?" Stan grunted as Fleur walked into the kitchens, checking her hair and makeup in the reflection of a kettle.

"I suppose," she said with a sigh. Stan shot her a sympathetic look.

"Seen the posters… Gin had to go off the radar then?" he asked. Fleur gave him a sad smile, picking up a tray of cocktails and heading out the double doors.

As usual, Malfoy and his cronies were there and shot mocking comments at Fleur as she served cocktails. She heard a ripple through the crowd that Voldemort might make an attendance tonight. Fleur shuddered.

All of a sudden, Fleur felt a hand run down her back before pausing in the small of her back.

"Glad to see you're still working these events," Hermione purred, kissing Fleur on the cheek, "Is that a blush I see, Delacour?"

"N-no!" Fleur replied quickly.

"I don't think I've often seen Fleur Delacour flustered," Hermione teased, "Anyone would say you like me,"

"You're a murderer," Fleur said flatly, "And you screwed over your best friends."

"It's a matter of opinion," Hermione replied with a teasing smile, "But you still didn't deny you like me,"

Fleur opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the swift arrival of Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix was dressed to kill in a black evening gown and positively dripping with diamonds. She gave Fleur an appraising look before turning to Hermione.

"Hermione, a word?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Of course, Bella," Hermione said warmly. Fleur's stomach churned violently at Hermione using an affectionate nickname with the madwoman. Hermione removed her hand from the small of Fleur's back and was about to step away when Bellatrix turned back to Fleur.

"Could you be a dear and go attend to my sister's drink? I think she may require a refill," Bellatrix said in her menacing tone with a sickly sweet smile. Fleur felt uneasy but nodded, taking her leave to go and seek out Narcissa.

Shooting one last look at Hermione, Fleur disappeared through the crowd, soon spotting the platinum blonde across the room. She would much rather stay with Hermione, but given Bellatrix's reputation for violent entertainment, she was probably better off keeping her head down and doing her job on the other side of the room.

Narcissa turned around, smiling coldly as she saw Fleur approaching. She, like her sister, was glittering in diamonds. She was dressed in a navy cocktail dress and had a fur stole around her neck.

"Bonsoir. You need a drink refresh?" Fleur asked with her signature fake smile. Narcissa continued to smile at her, almost predatorily.

"You know, I don't believe we have had a chance to properly acquaint ourselves, Veela," Narcissa said silkily, "Narcissa Malfoy."

"I know who you are," Fleur replied, still maintaining her aloof demeanour.

"And who are you?" Narcissa asked, moving closer to Fleur. Fleur felt a similar pang of danger as she had felt with her previous encounters with Narcissa.

"Fleur Delacour," Fleur answered somewhat uncomfortably. Narcissa drew even closer.

"Ah, yes, a Triwizard Champion once upon a time," Narcissa drawled, "It's a shame about your blood status, because you really are quite stunning."

"Erm, thanks," Fleur said.

"I wonder if you scream as sexily as you look," Narcissa smiled. Fleur felt a deeper pang of danger.

"Drink?" Fleur offered, holding the tray of cocktails out. Narcissa took a glass off the tray, smiling at Fleur still.

"Come and find me later, Fleur Delacour," Narcissa drawled. Fleur smiled and nodded before taking her leave and walking briskly away. She hadn't finished her tray but needed a break. She dropped her tray down on a table and walked out into the hallway, leaning heavily against a wall, shutting her eyes and exhaling.

"Please don't meet with Narcissa on your own,"

Fleur opened her eyes. Hermione was standing in front of her in the hallway, smoothing down her black evening gown in a bored fashion.

"Why?"

"She's dangerous, she'll hurt you," Hermione said, stepping forward. Fleur smiled lightly.

"Couldn't the same be said about you?" Fleur said. Hermione stepped forward and put her hands on Fleur's hips. Fleur swallowed heavily.

"I would never hurt you, Fleur," Hermione said softly. She leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. Fleur felt her breath becoming a little uneven. She willed her body to fight the urges that were flowing through her. Hermione was a _killer_.

"I can't trust you," Fleur uttered quietly. Hermione pressed against her and Fleur suppressed a sigh of pleasure.

"And yet you do trust me… Don't you?" Hermione said softly, her lips brushing Fleur's neck. Fleur shivered and she felt Hermione smile into her neck. Hermione drew back, looking Fleur in the eyes.

"I don't understand you, Hermione," Fleur said. Hermione smiled.

"There is always a very good reason for everything I do," Hermione said. She leaned in suddenly, capturing Fleur's lips with hers. Fleur was surprised at how soft and gentle Hermione was. Hermione pulled away again, smiling.

"Hermione…"

"Don't tell me you didn't like that," Hermione said cockily, smirking. Fleur blushed.

"Y-you're a Death Eater," Fleur said weakly, but even now she was feeling inexplicably drawn to Hermione.

"You have no idea the things I would do to you, Fleur…" Hermione said huskily. Fleur felt a pang of arousal. Suddenly, Hermione drew away, looking at her Dark Mark.

"I have to go, you should get out of here," Hermione said, paling, "the Dark Lord is coming."

She turned and walked away quickly, ducking back into the ballroom. Fleur exhaled shakily, straightening herself up before walking straight out of the building. She didn't care what Stan would say, she didn't care what Narcissa would say, she just needed to get out. The cold air helped calm her as she walked swiftly home.

She cut through the alleyway shortcut, trying to process what had just happened with Hermione. It was wrong, Hermione was a murderer, traitor and Death Eater. And yet… Fleur would be lying if she said she didn't want it to happen again.

She jumped as someone stepped out of the shadows.

"Ginny?"


	5. A Glimmer of Hope

**Chapter 4: A Glimmer of Hope**

* * *

Ginny's hair was tangled and dirty and it looked like she had been living rough. She looked exhausted and had dark rings under her eyes.

"Hey Fleur," she said hoarsely. Fleur immediately threw her arms around Ginny and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Oh Ginny, I am so glad you are okay," Fleur said into Ginny's hair. They pulled apart and Ginny sighed.

"So everything has gone to shit, but at least I'm not in Azkaban," Ginny said with a weak smile, leaning back against the alley wall.

"Oh Ginny, we will have another chance to turn it around," Fleur said encouragingly. Ginny sighed.

"I found out who ratted us out about the portkeys," Ginny said darkly, "I just need to find a way to track down McGonagall."

"Was it Hermione?" Fleur asked, a tug at her stomach reminding her of the brief kiss she had shared with Hermione. Ginny shook her head.

"That's the crazy thing," Ginny said, "It was Shacklebolt. Turns out he was thinking of defecting and he was setting us up."

"So Hermione helped us?" Fleur said hopefully. Ginny frowned.

"I don't think you can call _murder_ helping us," Ginny said darkly, "She probably just killed him because he bungled it."

Fleur nodded, looking down.

"Is she still seeking you out?" Ginny asked. Fleur bit her lip and avoided looking at Ginny. There was a rustling at the end of the alleyway and Ginny snapped to attention.

"Fleur! You need to be careful, she's dangerous," Ginny said intently. She looked around rapidly before hugging Fleur quickly, "I should go. But be safe, Fleur."

She apparated away quickly and Fleur's stomach sank. She missed Ginny fiercely and it hadn't even been that long that Ginny had been on the run.

* * *

Neville was still angry and ignoring Fleur, but thankfully, their need to cover Ginny's share of the rent had Fleur and Neville out often so they didn't cross paths much.

Stan had seemed to sense that Fleur had left the last gala event early because something had happened, and had managed to find Fleur as many non-Death Eater functions as he could—a hard ask given that most people with money these days were Death Eaters.

Tonight, Fleur was uncharacteristically having _fun_ at work. Stan had wrangled her a shift at the local cabaret club, both singing and serving drinks. The best part about working here was that there were a number of other Veela working. The air was thick with thralls, silver blonde hair and perfect smiles.

Fleur was standing by the bar talking to a Veela she knew from France, Sophia. Like Fleur, Sophia had originally come to fight in the war but had become stranded in England when the strict regulations came in preventing them from crossing borders.

Sophia smiled and took Fleur's hand, "Looks like your turn to sing, Fleur."

Fleur grinned and made her way to the mic on the little raised stage. She really did owe Stan for getting her this job. She started singing an old song from France that she knew, relishing the chance to switch into French again. It eased the dull ache of homesickness. She was just entering the final verse when there was a flurry of people arriving, taking up a large number of the small tables in the club. Fleur looked out at the new arrivals and locked eyes with Hermione who was sitting cross legged at a table, nursing a glass of wine.

Fleur finished her song, stepping off the stage as applause broke out and re-joining Sophia.

"Unfortunately those Death Eaters that just came in ordered several rounds of drinks," Sophia said with distaste. Fleur sighed, picking up a tray. Sophia picked up an identical one and they made their way out.

Fleur approached a table where Hermione, Narcissa and Bellatrix were sitting. Narcissa ran a hand up Fleur's thigh as she placed the tray of drinks down on the table.

"How I do love Veela," Narcissa purred, eying up Fleur and Sophia.

"Down, Cissy," Bellatrix smirked, "The night is young."

Fleur looked from Narcissa's hand on her thigh to Hermione. Hermione seemed to have a carefully guarded expression. Was she jealous? Protective? Her mind immediately ran to her kiss with Hermione. Bellatrix choked on her wine and looked at Hermione. Fleur blushed, remembering Hermione's warning that Bellatrix was a skilled Legimens. She stumbled back awkwardly, mumbling something about hoping they enjoy their drinks.

She returned to the bar, watching with concern as Narcissa pulled Sophia roughly onto her lap. She only hoped that Sophia could manage herself. She shook her head and looked away.

"Were they at least dirty thoughts that Bellatrix saw?" a voice said from her side. Fleur turned and saw Hermione lighting up a cigarette.

"I was remembering the last time I saw you," Fleur said, a smile ghosting her lips for a moment.

"Come and talk to me out the back," Hermione said firmly. Fleur shook her head.

"I can't… I'm working," Fleur explained. Hermione smiled slowly, jerking her head towards the table where Narcissa's hands were roaming over an uncomfortable looking Sophia in her lap.

"Seems like its common practice for the staff to humour the the patrons here," Hermione said silkily, putting an arm around Fleur's waist, "Humour me."

They went out the back, passing the mirrors and chairs where the girls prepared themselves before coming to a storeroom. Hermione pulled Fleur in and closed the door behind them, pushing Fleur up against the door immediately. She started kissing along Fleur's neck.

"Did you kill Shacklebolt to help us?" Fleur asked, struggling not to get distracted by the trail of light kisses along her neck.

"Its funny, with all the thralls in here tonight I could still feel yours amongst them all," Hermione said smirking between kisses, "It must like me."

"Hermione…" Fleur sighed. Hermione paused in her kissing and looked at Fleur.

"The Order doesn't appreciate you," Hermione said, "They didn't appreciate me either."

Hermione kissed Fleur, slipping her tongue into her mouth. Fleur's hips pushed into Hermione and Hermione ran her hands down Fleur's waist and to her ass. Fleur pulled away from the kiss, hoping that Hermione couldn't hear how loud her heart was beating.

"Are you helping us?" Fleur asked, "Are you really a Death Eater?"

"Not liking how deliciously _bad_ it feels fraternizing with the enemy?" Hermione smirked. Fleur paused, wanting to push the issue, but she couldn't help herself. She put a hand behind Hermione's neck, tangled in her curls, and pulled her into another deep kiss. Hermione pushed her up against the back of the door again, pressing her body up against Fleur's. Fleur moaned and Hermione ran her hands over her body, one of her hands getting to the hem of Fleur's skirt before running up the inside of her thighs.

Fleur was overcome with desire. She wanted nothing more than Hermione to take her right here right now, as ridiculous as it was to allow herself to be shagged by a Death Eater in a storeroom at her job. Hermione's hands were now playing at her underwear and she moaned again, overwhelmed with the sheer arousal of the anticipation.

A loud scream pierced the air and Hermione groaned and pulled away from Fleur.

"To be continued?" she said with a smirk, as they opened the storeroom and went back to the area with the mirrors ad chairs. There was a cluster of frightened and horrified looking Veela, several crying. Hermione stood back, appearing almost entirely uninterested, while Fleur pushed through the crowd to see the source of the horror.

"Sophia!" Fleur gasped. Sophia was pale and breathing in labored gasps, her dress torn and soaked with blood.

"Sh-she… Madame Malfoy… sectum sempra…" Sophia struggled to get out.

By the time Fleur had finished helping to heal Sophia, Hermione had gone. Fleur shook her head. Once again, Hermione's warnings had been entirely correct. She couldn't quite work it out. Was she good or bad? Either way, Fleur resolved that she most definitely would not be telling Neville or Ginny about her moment with Hermione in the storeroom.

* * *

Harry sat isolated at the edge of the exercise yard. Morale was down since their failed escape. Well, as much as morale could possibly decrease in an area heavily occupied by Dementors.

The walls were high around the exercise yard, preventing them from seeing any other part of the island that Azkaban was on. Not that a sea view would make it any more palatable to be there.

Today there was a breeze, and Harry was catching the odd leaf blown over the fence in the wind, a feeble reminder of life outside the prison. There was another big gust, bringing a large leaf floating into the yard. Harry caught it, a smile vaguely ghosting his face as it triggered a memory of his days catching the snitch in Quidditch.

He settled into position again, opening his shaking hand to examine the leaf. As malnutrition was well and truly setting in, he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. The leaf was broad and green, a nice reminder of the outside world. But this isn't what caught Harry's attention. Tangled around the leaf was a very long ginger hair. He would recognize that Weasley shade anywhere. Ginny.


	6. Changes Afoot

**Chapter 5: Changes Afoot**

* * *

Ginny shivered as she leant against the outer walls of Azkaban. She hated the feeling of Dementors but couldn't risk casting a patronus yet lest she expose herself. She gritted her teeth.

She pressed a hand against the cold wall, wondering how the others were doing inside. Had Ron grown in his horribly patchy beard again? Was Luna still spacey? Was Harry okay? She shook her head. She would have to push it all out of her mind and focus on the task at hand.

* * *

Fleur was exhausted. Neville and her were still working around the clock to cover their rent. It had clouded Neville's dark mood even further, putting a bit of a wedge between the two flatmates. It had now been a couple of weeks since she had seen Ginny in the alleyway and Fleur was anxious to hear from her friend again.

McGonagall was no help, the woman was incredibly hard to track down so it made sending notes to her difficult. The notes that Neville and Fleur did receive were vague, trying to ignite hope in them but not giving any details on what was on the horizon.

Fleur sighed. Stan was still doing his best to keep her exposure to Death Eaters at more of a minimum, but this had meant branching out into cleaning work. She was just now heading out the door to clean another manor, her arms still aching from the previous day's work at the site. The bastards had insisted she clean their antique furniture the _Muggle_ way. Ridiculous.

She cut through her usual alleyway shortcut, startled by a plume of black smoke signaling a Death Eater arriving.

"Bonjour mademoiselle Delacour," Hermione greeted with her now-infamous smirk. Fleur felt her breath catch in her throat. She hadn't seen Hermione since their almost-tryst in the storeroom at the cabaret.

"Hermione," she greeted back guardedly.

"Care to join me on this lovely day?" Hermione said, extending a hand. Fleur noted uncomfortably that it was her arm that bore the Dark Mark.

"I have work," Fleur replied simply, not taking Hermione's hand.

"Skip it," shrugged Hermione.

"I can't, I can barely make rent as it is," Fleur explained. It was probably for the best, she wasn't sure she could resist Hermione anymore, Death Eater or not.

"I assumed you would say that," Hermione smirked, "Consider it covered."

"What do you mean?" Fleur asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Paid your month's rent," Hermione said as dismissively as if she was referring to the bus timetable.

"Hermione!" Fleur exclaimed, shocked. Hermione waved a hand.

"They pay me quite well, might as well splash around the Dark Lord's money and share the love," Hermione smirked, "So will you join me?"

Fleur looked nervously at Hermione's hand and then at Hermione herself. Her dark brown eyes were glittering in the shadowy alleyway. She swallowed heavily and then took Hermione's hand. Black smoke began to swirl around them as Hermione apparated them.

They arrived in a hardwood floored living room filled with expensive and antique furniture.

"I wouldn't have picked this as being your kind of style," Fleur commented, looking around. She was still holding Hermione's hand.

"Its not," Hermione said simply, "I live here with Bella and Cissy. Bella likes to keep me close."

Fleur's hand involuntarily jerked and Hermione squeezed it with an easy smile.

"Relax, they're both out all day," she laughed, before adding, "So I have you all to myself."

Fleur felt her stomach flip at that and tried to ignore the rising arousal in her system at being alone in a house with Hermione. Hermione started giving Fleur a tour, filled with plenty of sarcastic comments and jokes. The rest of the house proved to be just as luxurious, filled with high ceilinged rooms perfect for entertaining. Eventually, Hermione gestured to Narcissa's bedroom and Bellatrix's before taking Fleur to her own.

"And this is mine," she said, smirking at the impressed look on Fleur's face as she looked around the room. This room was also large, adorned with plush carpet and large antique bookshelves filled with books. At the end of the room was a large four postered bed. Fleur looked back to Hermione, who was eying her in a rather predatory way.

"Hermione…"

"Can we skip the part where you ask me inane questions about me and the Order this time?" Hermione grinned, wrapping her arms around Fleur's waist and pulling her closer to her. Fleur opened her mouth to say something again but was silenced by Hermione nuzzling into her neck and running her hands down to grab her ass again. Hermione looked up at Fleur, her dark eyes glittering again and a smile on her face. Fleur felt the tension again, pulling her in. She kissed Hermione, immediately slipping her tongue into her mouth. Her hands tangled in Hermione's hair as they made out, not even realizing that they had been moving until the back of her legs hit the bed.

"I want you," Hermione said huskily, her breath uneven, "And I know you want me too."

"I do," sighed Fleur. Hermione gave a smug smile, withdrawing her wand from a pocket and rapidly removing their clothes with a flick.

"Should I be alarmed at how familiar you seem with that particular spell?" Fleur asked, raising her eyebrows. Hermione only smiled in response before slowly pushing Fleur back until she was sitting on the edge of the bed. She then lowered herself to her knees between Fleur's legs, beginning to kiss the soft skin of her inner thighs. Fleur shivered, her burning desire for Hermione heating up even more. Her eyes fluttered closed as Hermione finally kissed her way up to her goal and began to lick with careful strokes of her tongue. Fleur's head rolled back and a moan escaped her throat. Hermione was _talented_. Hermione adjusted so that Fleur's legs were over her shoulders before hoisting them both up and onto the bed in a fluid motion. She then began to kiss up Fleur's body, now laid out bare on the bed, pausing to appreciate the Veela's beauty. Fleur watched her, feeling absolutely intoxicated. She moved suddenly, rolling them over so that Hermione was now on her back and began grinding her body against Hermione's. Hermione let out a moan of appreciation, running her hands over Fleur's body.

"You are so fucking hot, Fleur," she breathed unsteadily. Fleur then moved her hand down to between Hermione's legs, starting to move her fingers with a little uncertainty at first. It became quite obvious that certain places and rhythms elicited a more _vocal_ response from Hermione and she gained confidence. She kissed along Hermione's collarbone as Hermione dragged fingernails down her shoulder blades. All of a sudden, Hermione shuddered, grinning ecstatically.

"Was that okay?" Fleur murmured softly.

"That was bloody brilliant," Hermione replied, still grinning. Fleur rolled off her and they lay beside each other for a moment.

"I have a Muggle toy to show you," Hermione said suddenly sitting up and rolling over to rummage in her bedside table. Fleur sat up, curious.

Hermione produced a strap on, donning it quickly. She turned back to Fleur with a smile. With a sudden burst of strength, Hermione flipped Fleur over so she was lying on her stomach. Fleur was just getting onto her hands and knees when Hermione entered her from behind, grabbing at her hips. Fleur let out a loud moan as Hermione began to thrust into her, settling into a quick rhythm.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this for," Hermione panted, running a hand up the toned muscles of Fleur's back. Fleur was moaning louder now as Hermione tangled her hand in Fleur's long silver-blonde hair, tugging lightly. Hermione paused for a moment before pulling Fleur back onto her back and resuming her ministrations. She nestled her face into Fleur's neck, kissing and nipping as she continued to thrust into her. Then, following a string of French expletives, Fleur finished.

Hermione pulled out, quickly removing the strap on before throwing herself on her back beside Fleur, panting heavily.

"I can't believe I just let a Death Eater fuck me," Fleur said, panting too. Hermione smiled smugly.

"Can't believe I finally shagged Fleur Delacour," she laughed. Fleur rolled over, looking at Hermione's face to get a read as to whether she viewed her as merely a conquest or as something… more. She sighed when she realized she didn't even know whether she even wanted something more herself. It did seem quite an impossible situation for an Order member and Death Eater to be in a relationship together.

Hermione's face, predictably, was unreadable, giving nothing away. Fleur gave up and roamed her eyes down Hermione's body, finally able to appreciate it slowly. She gasped as she suddenly became aware of numerous scars. How could she not have noticed this before?

"Are those…"

"Bellatrix's handiwork, yes," Hermione finished for her, "I was there for a long time."

"How can you be close to her after she did that?" Fleur asked incredulously. Hermione shrugged.

"How can I be close to people that left me there to endure that?" she countered lazily, "Besides, as soon as I started to comply, Bellatrix eased off."

"She tortured you into becoming a Death Eater?" Fleur asked, still incredulous.

"She tortured me into changing my views," Hermione corrected, still seemingly unfazed.

"Not entirely," Fleur added. Hermione quirked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"You killed off a defector for the Order and, now countless times, protected a 'half-breed' Veela," Fleur commented, "I'm not convinced you are a through and through Death Eater."

Hermione smiled, putting her hands behind her head, "Perhaps I do still have a heart, then."

There was a clunking noise from deep within the house and Hermione rolled over quickly, clapping a hand over Fleur's mouth.

"Shit, they're not supposed to be back for ages, be quiet," she hissed. The voices were raised and it sounded like they were shrieking at each other. Hermione leapt off the bed, frantically pulling on her clothes and throwing Fleur's at her. Fleur got up and changed quickly. Hermione grabbed her by the wrist, dark smoke emerging as they began to apparate.

They apparated into the usual alleyway and Hermione released Fleur.

"Sorry about that unceremonious exit," she drawled, "You just do _not_ want to run into Bellatrix and Narcissa when they're angry."

"Do they still hurt you, Hermione?" Fleur asked, concerned.

"They wouldn't dare," Hermione smirked. She looked down at her Dark Mark, the smirk dropping from her face.

"Are you okay?" Fleur asked.

"Always," Hermione said with a smile again, "I have to dash though. I'll see you around Delacour."

She leaned in and kissed Fleur chivalrously on the cheek before stepping back and disapparating with another puff of smoke.

Fleur exhaled heavily. What a whirlwind. She walked back towards her flat, her mind racing as she thought about Hermione. She was more and more sure that Hermione was an ally to her. More than that, she was sure her attraction was blooming into feelings for the mysterious Death Eater.

She arrived at the squalid flat, noting that the door was open and the lights were on. Odd. She wondered if Neville had by now heard about their rent being covered and by who. Bracing herself for his temper, she stepped in the door.

Neville whirled around immediately, a huge grin on his face.

"Fleur!" he exclaimed, "Gin did it!"

"Did what?" Fleur asked, confused.

"She got them out of Azkaban!" he shouted, gesturing at a small slip of parchment in his hands.

* * *

Thankfully, the good news had softened the news of their rent for Neville. Instead of throwing another tantrum, he simply scrunched up his face.

" _Hermione_ paid our rent?" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"Oui, for the whole month," Fleur replied simply.

"What's her angle? Why would she do that?" Neville asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"To be nice I suppose?" Fleur replied weakly, "Maybe she felt bad for Narcissa shredding one of the Veela at work not long ago?"

She was not going to tell Neville that Hermione had done it to relieve her of work. She _most definitely_ was not going to tell him that Hermione had done that to whisk her away and ravish her in the lair of the most infamous Death Eaters.

"I don't buy that," Neville said darkly, "But whatever her plans, she's not going to get very far."

"What makes you say that?" Fleur asked.

"Because Ron is free, and he's out for revenge," Neville replied.


	7. Motivations

**Chapter 6: Motivations**

* * *

Neville headed out later that night to try and track down Stan and see if he had any more messages from McGonagall. Neville was excited to know what was coming next for the Order now they had more members back in rotation.

Fleur set to flicking lazy cleaning spells around their squalid room in a vain attempt to make it look a little nicer. It was hard to fill in time now that she didn't have to work all the time. She went over to a window, blasting the grime off the pane of glass with a rather satisfying scourgify charm. As she admired her handiwork, she became aware of a small orange light outside and across the street. Fleur wondered if it could be what she thought it could be, deciding to investigate.

Sure enough, upon stepping out into the cold night air, Fleur came across a dark cloaked Hermione smoking a cigarette across the street. Her eyes looked darker and her features were rather severe, although she brightened when Fleur approached her.

"Do you always lurk outside my place?" Fleur asked, raising an eyebrow. Hermione smiled.

"After hastily covering your rent I have in fact discovered that this has the flow on effect of not seeing you at events," Hermione explained.

"You wanted to see me?" Fleur asked, rather neutrally in her opinion.

"Often do, Delacour," Hermione smirked. Fleur felt a small flutter deep in her ribcage.

"I suppose you've heard then," Fleur said, changing the subject.

"That dear Ginny let out the rest of the gang?" Hermione said, her smile fading a little. She took another drag of her cigarette, "Stupid girl."

"Aren't you worried?" Fleur asked, "They're quite mad at you for betraying them."

Hermione snorted, "I don't know why. At least in Azkaban they weren't going to die." Fleur looked at her curiously, wondering again what her motivations truly are.

"Why did you betray them?" Fleur asked slowly, entirely expecting an evasive response from Hermione. Hermione sighed, snaking an arm around Fleur's waist again.

"Fleur, you know I can't tell you anything," Hermione smiled, "You are terrible at Occlumency and there are far too many Legimens roaming around. But do you trust me?"

"I want to," Fleur said uncertainly. Hermione's face was unreadable.

"What is stopping you?" Hermione asked softly, her fingers playing circles on Fleur's lower back.

"I don't know what your intentions are," Fleur said gently, her mind turning to her usual thoughts about Hermione.

"You think I see you as a conquest?" Hermione said, quirking an eyebrow. Fleur blushed.

"Stop reading my mind!" Fleur yelped.

Hermione removed her arm from around Fleur's waist and began fishing around in her cloak pockets.

"While, undoubtedly, it does feel pretty good to bed _the_ Fleur Delacour," Hermione said, still rummaging, "I can assure you, you are no conquest."

Finally, she produced her wand and a small empty vial. She put her wand to her temple, drawing it away with a thin silver thread attached. She deposited this in the vial.

"I hope this helps you understand my draw to you a little more," Hermione said with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes were glittering in the dark again.

"Hermione…" Fleur began. But Hermione pushed the vial into her palm, closing her fingers around it.

"Be careful, Fleur," Hermione said, stepping backwards as the telltale black smoke appeared before she disapparated.

Fleur sighed and headed back inside. She did have a small Pensieve her mother had given her before she had moved to England. She rummaged through her small bag underneath her cot before finding the object. She had regrettably not taken terribly good care of it during the war, there were some gems missing and a couple of chips on the side of the basin. Undeterred, Fleur set it up before pouring in the contents of the vial from Hermione.

The memories began swirling and Fleur bit her lip before dipping her head in.

Fleur arrived with a jerk into what she vaguely recognized as the Hogwarts library. She was standing in a corner near a small table where a young Hermione was sitting with Ron Weasley. They would have been no older than fifteen or sixteen, if Fleur had to guess.

It was strange seeing Hermione like this again, with a rounder face that shone with innocence and optimism. Her hair was bushy and she was leant over a parchment, hiding its contents from Ron, who was similarly leant over the desk.

"Don't be a prat, 'Mione! Let me copy, already! We both know you're going to cave and let me copy it anyway," Ron whined.

"Ronald, would it kill you to do your own work for once instead of getting me to do it?" Hermione snapped.

Fleur watched the teens continue to squabble, hand gestures becoming more pronounced as the argument escalated. She wondered why on Earth Hermione had wanted to show her this memory. It seemed rather innocuous.

There was a shuffling at a nearby shelf and Ron and Hermione fell silent. Fleur watched on as she saw her seventeen-year-old self emerge from a bookshelf in her Beauxbatons uniform. Present Day Fleur grimaced as she watched teen Ron turn purple as per usual, ogling her as she shuffled with some books. But then, her attention turned to teen Hermione, who was blushing lightly and staring at teen Fleur. Teen Fleur returned the book in her hands before swaying off again deeper into the library and out of sight.

Ron turned to Hermione, "Cor, you were checking her out!"

Hermione blushed even deeper, "I was not!"

Ron grinned rather smugly, "You were too! And you're always talking about her! You _like_ Fleur Delacour!"

"Like you can talk! You go purple in the face every time she walks past!" Hermione countered.

"Yeah, but I'm a bloke. I have more of a chance with her than you ever will, 'Mione. Why would a girl like _that_ ever go for a nerdy little bookworm girl?" Ron said rather harshly. He seemed to realize that he had crossed the line in their little squabble and started to apologise rapidly.

"Spare me, Ronald," Hermione said coldly, gathering her things rapidly before storming out of the room.

The library began to darken and shift and soon Fleur found herself standing in the kitchen at the Burrow. A slightly older Ron and Hermione were cleaning some mugs the Muggle way in the kitchen. Fleur could see herself through the window conversing rather tersely with Molly Weasley on the lawn. Even now Fleur felt her jaw stiffening. She never got along with Molly.

"Are we ever going to talk about it?" Ron said gently while wiping a mug with a dishcloth. Hermione wasn't looking at him.

"There's nothing to talk about," she said a little abruptly.

"I know you still like her, I see the way you look at her—" Ron began.

"She's with Bill," Hermione cut in, "And even if she wasn't, a girl like that would never go for a _nerdy little bookworm._ "

Ron put a hand on Hermione's arm, "You know I never meant for it to come out like that."

Hermione pulled her arm out of his grasp, "Where's Harry, anyway?" she began, changing the subject. Fleur struggled to hear the rest of her sentence as Hermione's voice grew faint and the room grew dark, twisting and morphing as it skipped to another memory.

Fleur gasped as she recognized the figure in the next memory.

"The Golden Trio…" Bellatrix drawled, "And yet your two companions have left you here to rot. Some Trio."

Bellatrix was straddling Hermione, a dagger in her hand that was coated in blood. Hermione was lying on the floor, deathly pale and weak, covered in blood. She was sobbing.

"Pl-please j-j-just let me go!" sobbed Hermione, "I can't take anymore! Its been days!"

"You underestimate my stamina," smirked Bellatrix, moving the dagger to make small nicks along Hermione's arm. Fleur fought the urge to jump in and wrench Bellatrix off Hermione. She knew better that that's not how memories worked.

"Where is the sword of Gryffindor?" Bellatrix barked. Hermione sobbed harder.

"I don't know!" Hermione wailed. Bellatrix leant back with a smile.

"Well then, I guess I will just have to have a perusal through your mind until I find the truth," Bellatrix grinned, "Do you know Occlumency, Mudblood?"

"Please stop! This is too much," Hermione cried. Bellatrix frowned and moved forward quickly, grabbing Hermione tightly by the face.

"You don't know what 'too much' is," Bellatrix hissed, "You want to be treated equally, Mudblood? I won't see you as an equal until you show me how strong you are."

She dragged the dagger down Hermione again, resulting in a long choked scream from Hermione.

"Obliviated your parents before the war… Interesting," Bellatrix said, cocking her head to one side. She was evidently beginning to search through Hermione's mind.

"Stop!" Hermione sobbed. Bellatrix grinned.

"First kiss was shared with the Weasley boy, what a shame. Pureblood family, yes, but he's hardly a catch," Bellatrix laughed, continuing to lay bare what she found in Hermione's mind. Fleur's hand found its way to her mouth. Evidently Bellatrix had spent those weeks physically as well as mentally torturing Hermione.

"Stop it, that's private!" Hermione said, her voice growing stronger and a hand clawing for Bellatrix's arm. Bellatrix cackled.

"Now there's some moxie!" Bellatrix laughed, "You'd better learn Occlumency quickly if you don't want me to find anything else!"

Hermione wrestled under Bellatrix, a pained expression on her face.

"You are interested in women?" Bellatrix suddenly said, raising an eyebrow. Hermione covered her face with her hands. "And a Veela in particular…"

Hermione started to cry again and Fleur's heart broke for her. Bellatrix laughed some more before returning to using her dagger on Hermione.

"Don't worry, Muddy, my sister shares your… interests for the creatures," Bellatrix smirked, "Maybe you have more in common with us than you thought. We would never leave our friends to be tortured by somebody like me, you know."

The room drew dark and Fleur wrenched her head out of the Pensieve, thoroughly disturbed. Hermione had liked her all these years? She had never said a thing. If anything, she had always maintained a strong distance from Fleur. Fleur had assumed that Hermione had disliked her when they were at Hogwarts and the Burrow. Her mind turned again to the horrific scene of Bellatrix torturing Hermione. That was mere days in to being kept there. Fleur knew from the stories that Hermione had been stuck there for weeks before they had rescued her. It explained how she had become so adept at Occlumency and Legilimency though. Fleur wondered if Bellatrix knew that she was the Veela from Hermione's mind. Perhaps not… Bellatrix did have a laziness when it came to telling part-blooded magical people apart from each other.

The door slammed, drawing Fleur out of her reverie. Neville was back and had another slip of parchment in his hands.

"What's the news?" Fleur asked, somewhat distractedly. Neville sat down on his cot opposite Fleur's.

"They're all fine. Really weak and malnourished, but nothing some good sleep and food won't solve," Neville said, "Ron is still really angry, Harry seems distant, and Luna is even more spacey than normal." Neville said the last part with a frown. Fleur had always suspected that he had a soft spot for the radish-earringed Ravenclaw.

"Open up!" a voice shouted at the door. Neville sighed and walked to the door, opening it to Malfoy, Crabbe and Parkinson in riot gear.

"We're hardly a threat," he said incredulously, eying their riot gear. Crabbe stormed in, twisting Neville's arm behind his back and slamming him into the wall.

"You are known acquaintances of Harry Potter and the escaped convicts from Azkaban!" shouted Parkinson. Malfoy and her entered, smirking, and began trashing the small flat. Neville was struggling to no avail against Crabbe. Malfoy then approached Fleur, laughing.

"Should have known you would live in a rat hole like this," he smirked. Fleur kept a neutral face. She knew better than to cause trouble during a raid. Malfoy frowned slightly at not getting a rise out of her. He shoved her roughly into a wall.

"Don't know why you bother working in hospitality when Veela like you should be waiting on street corners," he spat, "That's all your type are good for."

While Fleur had often heard jibes about Veela, rumours of promiscuity and similar insults, she was unexpectedly offended by Malfoy. Her mouth opened before her mind engaged.

"Yeah well your mum seems to think so," Fleur retorted coldly. Pansy paused in her trashing and even Crabbe looked over, interested. Malfoy coloured.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he demanded, incensed.

"Everyone knows she loves the company of a Veela," Fleur said with a smirk, "She pursues us relentlessly. Even I could have had her in bed if I so wanted… But I'm not that desperate."

Pansy and Crabbe let small laughs escape their mouths and Malfoy went bright red, pulling back a fist. Everything went black.

* * *

Fleur awoke hazily, strangely aware of the high quality sheets she was wrapped in. She hadn't enjoyed sleeping in sheets like this since she was in France. As her eyes began to focus, she became aware of someone stroking her hair.

"Hermione?" Fleur asked, confused. She sat up in bed, suddenly realizing that she was in Hermione's bed.

"Couldn't resist mouthing off to Malfoy, huh?" Hermione smirked. Fleur remembered where she was before she woke up.

"He insulted Veela," she explained weakly. Hermione laughed.

"Well I certainly hope it was worth it, his mother isn't talking to me at the moment because of how badly I hexed him."

"You hexed him?" Fleur exclaimed, "He's a Death Eater too, though."

"Doesn't mean he isn't a little prat," Hermione said lazily, running her hands over Fleur, "And it did bother me that he hit you. Although I suppose you already know by now that it would bother me if anyone hurt you."

"I saw your memories, yes," Fleur replied awkwardly, "Now I am even more surprised that you are so close with Bellatrix."

"She broke me, yes," Hermione said idly, her hands still running over Fleur, "But she also put me back together."

Fleur shook her head, she still didn't fully understand it all.

"Do they know that I'm here?" Fleur asked, suddenly aware that Narcissa and Bellatrix could burst in at any moment.

"Erm, no…" Hermione laughed, "I think I should let Narcissa calm down a bit about Draco before I reveal that I've taken you in. No doubt Neville has already told half of the Order that I whisked you away though."

"Would they even let me stay?" Fleur asked, incredulous at the idea that Hermione could casually inform Bellatrix and Narcissa that she was there.

"Depends," Hermione drawled, "If you are willing to forsake the Order."

"To join the side of the Death Eaters?!" Fleur exclaimed, "No way."

"Not at all," Hermione said simply, "To join _my_ side."

"Hermione, I don't even know what side you're on," Fleur countered. Hermione smiled.

"Guess you'll have to trust me then."


	8. Building Resistance

**A/N: Hi all, thanks for the reviews! I was a little on the fence about whether or not to continue with this but shout out to Hatestohurtyou, kiearcheo and for your encouraging comments!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Building Resistance**

* * *

Hermione laid in bed with Fleur for the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the feeling of having the blonde in her arms. Fleur was reluctant to leave the Order, but Hermione had pressed that with the new escapees, it was hardly like they would miss her anyway. Hermione felt a little bad pushing Fleur into giving up the Order, but it was the only way that she could begin to draw Fleur closer. Bella certainly wouldn't consent to an Order member in her house, and with Fleur's current level of Occlumency, there would be no hiding the fact that she was one. Yes, leaving was the only way.

"That torture… It looked horrible, Hermione," Fleur said softly, "How did you survive it?"

"I didn't really, I feel like a part of me died," Hermione said, and then on seeing the horrified look on Fleur's face, continued, "But I did get through by holding on to little pieces of hope."

"Like what?" Fleur asked, drawing closer to Hermione.

"Like that I would see you again," Hermione said softly.

Hermione brushed some silver-blonde hair out of Fleur's face, smiling as she saw it made Fleur blush. She seemed to get flustered a lot around Hermione. It was definitely adorable. She found her even cuter nestled into bed next to her wearing one of Hermione's oversized tees. Hermione smirked. Definitely worth hexing Malfoy for. She leaned in and captured Fleur's lips with hers, pulling Fleur into her. The Frenchwoman sighed into the kiss, allowing Hermione to slip her tongue into her mouth. She never tired of this. The thrill of kissing Fleur was like a drug to Hermione. A drug she had been yearning after for years. Hermione moved on top of Fleur, pressing her thigh up between the blonde's legs. Fleur immediately began to grind against her. Hermione started breathing unevenly. Fleur was like a goddess, to have her pushing up into her with such desire was overwhelming. Hermione bit down on Fleur's lip, relishing the gasp it produced and moved her hand down Fleur's body. With a quick motion, she replaced her thigh between Fleur's legs with her hand, which set immediately to a quick rhythm. Fleur's back began to arch and Hermione moved to kiss at her neck, trying her best not to nip too hard at her. The desire to mark Fleur as _hers_ was strong, but the last thing Hermione wanted to do was hurt her. She slipped two fingers inside Fleur, loving how wet she had made the older woman. Fleur let out a moan, throwing her head back and Hermione almost got lost in watching her come completely undone. Hermione thrust into her, her face buried in her neck, panting against the soft skin. It didn't take long until Fleur climaxed and Hermione wrapped her arms around her.

"I promise I'll tell you everything you want to know as soon as I can," Hermione whispered into Fleur's hair before kissing her temple. Merlin, it was like she was going soft.

Hermione stretched and got up, walking across the room to find a pair of pants to pull on and a black leather jacket.

"Where are you going?" Fleur asked, sitting up in bed. Hermione looked over at her. She was doing her usual routine of appearing aloof, but a quick peek in her mind told Hermione that Fleur was feeling unsettled at being left alone in the house.

"I'm just going to talk to Bella and Cissy, see if Cissy has calmed down a bit," Hermione said with a quirked grin, "I'll be back soon though, I promise."

On her way to the door, she stopped at a bookshelf, pulling a book out the shelf and tossing it onto the bed.

"What is that?" Fleur asked, curious.

"Occlumency," Hermione said, already turning back to the door, "You really need to learn."

Hermione shut the door tightly behind her and sighed. She really hoped Fleur would stay with her, but the uncertainty and doubt in her mind worried Hermione. If she could teach Fleur Occlumency though… then she could tell her enough to ease her unease.

She walked in to the dining room where Bellatrix was sitting at a table sipping at a cup of tea.

"Narcissa was quite mad at you," Bellatrix said with a small smirk, "Draco is a bit of a nuisance, but what brought on that delightful encounter with… What hex was it?"

"Bat bogey hex," Hermione smiled. Merlin, she missed Ginny sometimes, "He knocked out a Veela at the house he was raiding."

"Hmn, its usually only killing them that gets you riled up these days," Bellatrix mused, "What was it about this particular creature?"

"Fleur Delacour," Hermione interrupted, getting a little irritated. She scarcely lost her temper with Bellatrix but hated hearing Fleur talked about like that.

"Ah, wasn't Narcissa interested in that one?" Bellatrix drawled. Hermione didn't let her annoyance show on her face but was clenching one hand under the table.

"I'll never understand the predilection you two have for Veela," Bellatrix sighed, continuing, "Where is the Veela now anyway?"

"In my room," Hermione replied in a clipped tone. The best way to deal with Bellatrix was to stick to facts and keep emotion out of it lest she try and crawl her way into your head. Bellatrix raised her eyebrows.

"Let me guess, you want to keep it," Bellatrix said distastefully. Hermione was one of her best students in the ways of the Death Eaters but her blood status and interest in creatures left a lot to be desired.

"Her," Hermione corrected, "But yes, I would like for her to stay with me here. She's just left the Order for me."

At this, Bellatrix became more animated and put her cup of tea down.

"Well, now we are talking," she said with a rather predatory gleam in her eyes, "The student becomes the master! I convert you and now you convert this… Veela. The Dark Lord does believe the Veela could be the next creatures to join our cause."

"If Fleur were to join us, I would want an assurance that she would not be harmed. I know what you are like," Hermione said darkly. Bellatrix laughed.

"You know me so well, Hermione," she laughed, "But you have been loyal to me and I would hate for us to fall out over me harming your pet."

"And you'll smooth things over with Narcissa too?" Hermione pressed. Bellatrix smirked.

"She certainly won't be happy with you stealing her fun, but yes of course I will Hermione," Bellatrix assured her.

"Well that's sorted then," Hermione said with a smile. Bellatrix cleared her throat.

"Just ensure she is truly loyal to us and not to the Order," Bellatrix said in a cold voice, "I would hate to have to break her in the way I broke you in."

"She is," Hermione said firmly. Bellatrix appeared appeased by this. Hermione knew that Bellatrix trusted her immensely. She was a product of Bellatrix after all.

* * *

Narcissa was incensed. Bellatrix had waited until right before dinner to inform her that Hermione had taken in the very Veela she had been keeping on her radar. This, combined with Hermione attacking Draco, had just served to prove Narcissa's suspicions that Hermione couldn't be trusted.

" _Surely_ this demonstrates that she can't be trusted, Bella, she has brought an Order member into our house!" Narcissa exclaimed, "She attacked my son!"

"I know Draco is your darling, Cissy, but I'm actually surprised he doesn't get hexed more often with the attitude on him," Bellatrix smirked. Narcissa scowled.

"That doesn't change the fact that she has an Order member here," Narcissa said petulantly.

"Cissy, if Hermione says she has defected, I doubt we have anything to worry about," Bellatrix drawled.

"You trust her too much," Narcissa hissed, "She is nothing but a Mudblood. You should have left her to die instead of nursing her back to health."

Bellatrix got to her feet, pulling her wand out.

"Hermione _earnt_ my trust," Bellatrix said in a dangerously low voice, "You don't understand what it means to be broken down and rebuilt, Cissy. You don't understand what it means to lose _everything_ that makes you you."

Narcissa's scowl dropped off her face as she stared fearfully at Bellatrix's wand.

"Forgive me, sister," Narcissa said with deference. Bellatrix was a madwoman and entirely unpredictable. Narcissa knew better than to test the boundaries of her temper.

Bellatrix lowered her wand but her eyes were still burning with a dark anger. She nodded at Narcissa.

"I expect you will leave Hermione and her Veela alone," Bellatrix said coldly, "She has brought us an insider from the Order. I suggest you look at actually contributing to the cause for once, Cissy."

Bellatrix turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, her dark robes billowing behind her.

Narcissa frowned. She was still not convinced that Hermione was trustworthy, as much as her sister said. Mudbloods could not be trusted, and Narcissa would prove that once and for all.

* * *

Harry leant back in his chair, scratching his freshly shaven face. God he had missed being able to wash and groom himself. He was finally beginning to feel back to normal.

Ron sat across from him. Unlike Harry, Ron had opted to keep his scruffy little beard, although Ginny was teasing him mercilessly about its patchiness. Harry smiled. Being free and surrounded by friends, he could almost momentarily forget about the state of the world and revel in the normalcy. Luna was sitting by a window staring dreamily outside. It was still a little alarming how disconnected she was, but she was returning to her normal spaciness at least.

Lupin was sitting on the floor alongside Dean Thomas.

"I reckon things are gonna really change now," Ron was saying through a mouthful of stew, "Now we've got way more Order members on the ground."

"We are down another member," McGonagall interrupted, sweeping into the room and sitting down with the younger members.

"Who?" Harry asked with alarm. McGonagall shot Ginny a sympathetic look.

"There was a raid on Neville and Fleur's lodgings," she began, "Draco and his friends were carrying out a search and a scuffle ensued."

"Fucking Malfoy! Why am I not surprised that git was involved," Ron said darkly.

"Are they okay?" Ginny asked, fear in her voice.

"As I understand it, Draco knocked out Fleur who was then taken away by Hermione Granger. Nobody has seen Fleur since," McGonagall said grimly.

"So she's probably as dead as Shacklebolt?!" Ginny said, paling and becoming a little hysterical.

Ron clapped a large hand on his sister's shoulder protectively, "Don't worry, Gin, Hermione isn't gonna get away with this. That traitor is going to get what's coming to her."

Ron's knuckles turned white as he began to tremble with pure rage. Harry raised his eyebrows. Was Ron capable of seriously hurting Hermione? Harry was just as upset about the betrayal, but a small part of him clung to the belief that Hermione would not have done anything to hurt them if there was not a very good reason to.

* * *

Fleur sat on the end of the bed, head down, exhausted. She lifted her head up and looked across the room. Hermione was sitting in a leather armchair by her fireplace, smoking a cigarette in the shadows.

"The last thing you told Gabrielle was not to take your mother's insults to heart," Hermione drawled, before taking another drag of her cigarette.

"Hermione, I can't do it," Fleur said rather miserably. She had spent much of the last few days trying unsuccessfully to block her mind against Hermione's Legilimency.

"Well, I guess we are going to have to spend our days in this bedroom then," Hermione drawled, "Unless you would rather wander around the house having Bellatrix read your every thought and memory?"

Fleur shuddered at that, "Non. I do not even want to think about that."

Hermione stubbed out her cigarette in a crystal ashtray on a side table by her armchair. "Come here, Fleur," she said in a low voice. Her dark eyes were glittering in the light of the fire. If Fleur was standing already her knees probably would have become weak at the way Hermione was looking at her. She got up from the bed, slowly walking towards Hermione. She was aware of the brunette's eyes roaming up and down her figure. When she reached Hermione's armchair, Hermione pulled her roughly to sit in her lap.

"Fleur, you used to be so calm and proud…" Hermione said softly in a husky voice, "Some would say arrogant," Hermione smirked, "But nonetheless, composed."

"The war has changed us all," Fleur said, hooking an arm around the back of Hermione's neck. Hermione began to run her hands up Fleur's toned thighs.

"Mn, but I have seen you at events," Hermione said, "You are still entirely capable of being the calm ice queen."

"What of it?" Fleur asked, curious as to what Hermione was getting at.

"You need to extend that same calmness that controls your demeanour to your mind," Hermione said softly, "Clear your mind. Make it as calm as the rest of you. Build the same walls you build on the outside."

Fleur considered this for a moment. That seemed like far better logic than had been in the book she had been reading on Occlumency.

"Try again," Fleur said suddenly.

"Okay," Hermione said, a smirk playing at her lips, "I'm not going to go easy on you though."

She narrowed her eyes, clearly focusing. Fleur looked away from her, she knew it was distracting to look at Hermione. Tuning in to the coldness she had fashioned as a protective blanket from a young age, Fleur cleared her mind.

"Progress!" Hermione said suddenly with a proud smile. However as soon as Hermione congratulated her, Fleurs' mind became cluttered again.

"Merde," she sighed as Hermione smirked again.

"So you kissed a girl at Beauxbatons… I guess I'm not your first female encounter then," Hermione said smugly. Fleur pouted and Hermione laughed, suddenly scooping Fleur up in her arms and standing up from the chair.

"You've become so strong, Hermione," Fleur noted, as Hermione carried her effortlessly to the bed.

"In more ways than you could know," Hermione said, tossing Fleur on the bed. Fleur didn't get a chance to reply as Hermione smoothly climbed on top of her and kissed her deeply.


	9. Tensions Rising

**Chapter 8: Tensions Rising**

* * *

Narcissa daintily nibbled at her toast across the table from Hermione. Bellatrix was reading the Daily Prophet with a self-satisfied look on her face. She had once again graced the front page.

"I cant help but notice you have yet to grace us with the presence of your Veela," Narcissa said silkily, shooting a glance at Bellatrix before continuing, "Could it be you are hiding her from us?"

"Only hiding her from your wandering hands," Hermione said snarkily, causing Bellatrix to snort on her coffee.

"Bella, if this girl has really joined our cause then surely she must meet with us eventually," Narcissa said petulantly. Bellatrix lowered her paper for a moment, surveying the two other women at the table.

"Hermione… Cissy does have a point. If she is to join our cause from the other side, she will inevitably have to leave your room," Bellatrix said with a smirk.

"Fine," Hermione sighed, "I'll bring her down at some point."

"Bring her to the upcoming gala," Narcissa suggested with a coy smile, "The Dark Lord will be in attendance. I am sure he would love to discuss Veela joining his cause with your _friend._ "

Bellatrix looked interested at the mention of the Dark Lord.

"That would please him, he is rather frustrated with progress with the Giants at the moment," Bellatrix mused aloud.

"I thought those with creature blood were not permitted to be guests at the galas?" Hermione interrupted.

"Yes, well, Mudbloods aren't allowed to be invited either and yet you are invited every time," Narcissa drawled.

"Same with Fenrir," Bellatrix said fondly thinking of her companion. Unlike Narcissa, she was willing to place her blood purity views aside for those she deemed her equals. Truth be told, she wasn't all that fond of many people in general unless they had somehow proved themselves to her.

"Is it a _problem_ to bring her?" Narcissa asked sweetly, though there was a very definite challenge in her voice. Bellatrix looked at Hermione, surprised.

"Is it, Hermione?" Bellatrix chimed in. Hermione shook her head.

"Of course not, Bella," Hermione said, before narrowing her eyes at Narcissa. She excused herself from the table. Narcissa was being even more irritating than normal, it was unsettling.

* * *

Fleur was sitting in the armchair by the fireplace, reading one of Hermione's books. Hermione slipped into the room, a plate of food in hand, so silently it startled Fleur when she appeared beside her.

"You have a lot of books on Dark magic, Hermione," Fleur commented. Hermione set down the plate of food.

"Bella gave them to me," Hermione replied, beginning to play with Fleur's hair.

Fleur looked up at Hermione, as if about to ask a question, before looking back at the book.

"I think you should learn it too," Hermione said softly.

"Its Dark, Hermione…" Fleur said, looking back up at her. Hermione sighed and crossed the room.

"They want you to come to a Death Eater gala," Hermione said quietly, "I worry I won't be able to protect you."

"I'm not some damsel in distress!" Fleur exclaimed, putting the book down, "Contrary to popular belief, there is more to me than just my looks."

"They want to be assured that you are on their side," Hermione said, concern lacing her voice. Fleur got up and crossed the room, putting her arms around Hermione's shoulders.

"I'm on _your_ side," Fleur said softly.

"You don't even know what that is yet," Hermione replied, looking pained. She shook her head.

"I trust you," Fleur replied. Hermione leaned forward and kissed her softly.

"I didn't think I could feel this way anymore," Hermione murmured. Fleur kissed at a small scar on Hermione's neck.

"I trust you," Fleur repeated, continuing to kiss Hermione's neck.

"I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," Hermione said quietly, "I'm not used to having something to lose."

"Hermione Granger vulnerable?" Fleur smiled, arching an eyebrow, "I don't think I have seen this side of you yet."

Hermione smirked, putting her arms around Fleur's waist.

* * *

Harry darted through the streets, missing his Invisibility Cloak fiercely. He just hoped that he had charmed his facial features carefully enough that he wouldn't be recognized. As his shoes pounded the asphalt he looked around frantically for the tell-tale Weasley shade of red hair.

As he was running past an alley, someone caught his arm and yanked him into an alley.

"Harry, mate! You'll get caught running around like that!" Ron said with a lopsided grin. Harry doubled over, puffing.

"Ron… what the bloody hell are you doing?" Harry got out between gasps. Ron shook his head, leaning against the wall and turning to look out at the street. Harry followed his gaze as three figures emerged from a building.

Narcissa Malfoy was decked out in her finest furs, flipping her hair arrogantly. Bellatrix was dressed more modestly, in all black with her dark tendrils of hair spilling loosely over shoulders. Between them, Harry was shocked to see, was Hermione. She was dressed similarly to Bellatrix, all in black and was looking rather severe.

"Is that..?" Harry started, his jaw dropping.

"Yeah," Ron said tensely, pulling out his wand.

"What are you doing?" Harry said suddenly. Ron turned to look at him, anger all over his face.

"Ridding the world of a traitor," Ron said between gritted teeth. He turned back to the trio, wand aimed.

Harry grabbed Ron's wand, trying to wrench it away from him. Ron fought wildly and the two began to wrestle.

"What the hell, Ron!" Harry exclaimed, as Ron kept struggling, "Its Hermione!"

"You know what she did to us! To Shacklebolt!" Ron spat.

"We can't… We can't _kill_ her, Ron!" Harry said, horrified. He had never seen his best friend so furious before. There was an audible popping noise and the boys looked over to see plumes of dark smoke indicating the trio of Death Eaters had disapparated. Harry and Ron pulled apart, Ron visibly shaking with anger.

"You heard Gin, she's probably killed Fleur off too!" Ron exclaimed. Harry shoved Ron, hard.

"Its _Hermione_ ," Harry said with conviction before turning on his heel and stalking away.

* * *

Ginny was reading a book when Ron came in alone.

"Harry was looking for you," she informed him, before noticing Ron's tenseness.

"He's off for a walk to clear his head," Ron said flatly. He came and sat heavily on the overstuffed couch beside Ginny.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked. Ron sighed.

"Hermione," he said darkly, "Harry doesn't want me hurting her."

"Well, it is a little cold blooded, Ron," Ginny replied, crossing her arms, "Its _Hermione_."

"God why does everyone say it like that?" Ron said, throwing his hands up, "She betrayed us, Gin. She would have left us to rot in Azkaban. She killed Shacklebolt. Probably Fleur too!"

Ginny winced at the mention of Fleur. She was unsuccessfully trying to push Fleur's fate out of her mind. Ginny's wince didn't go unnoticed by Ron.

"Don't you think Fleur deserves justice?"

Ginny bit her lip. Ron put his hand on her arm.

* * *

Bellatrix squinted at the flashing of cameras as she apparated outside the gala. On the bright side, it might lead to another front page photo of her. Bellatrix looked at her side, where Narcissa had a tight, forced smile. Hermione was standing not far behind them. Hermione was uncharacteristically agitated tonight, and Bellatrix knew this was due to the beautiful blonde Veela on her arm. Bellatrix wondered what exactly was going on there. She attempted to pry into the Veela's mind, only to find that it was carefully guarded. She smirked. Hermione _is_ protective, teaching her Veela Occlumency like that.

But in a second, Bellatrix's attention was drawn elsewhere as her sharp eyes caught a flash of ginger in the crowd. She narrowed her eyes, her hand already moving to her wand.

Ginny was at Ron's side in the crowd as the Death Eaters walked in to their extravagant gala. She rolled her eyes. Merlin, how many events did they have to throw away money on?

Ron tensed and Ginny followed his gaze. Narcissa and Bellatrix were walking up the steps now. That meant a certain someone couldn't be far away… The crowd parted and Ginny's stomach dropped so rapidly she thought she might throw up. On Hermione's arm was Fleur.

"There she is," Ron muttered, withdrawing his wand. A slow alarm began to ring through Ginny.

"No—Ron—Fleur's there!" she started, but Ron was already beginning the wand motion.

She tried to grab at his arm but he elbowed her, hard.

"Avada…"

"SECTUM SEMPRA!" Bellatrix bellowed out. The crowd screamed and parted as her beam shot straight through to hit Ron in the chest. Ginny, in a wild panic, grabbed her brother's arm and disapparated immediately, the last thing she saw being Fleur's wide, surprised eyes.

* * *

Fleur felt Hermione's hand tighten around her waist as they entered the gala. She was probably feeling even more anxious after the stunt that Ron and Ginny had just tried to pull. Fleur couldn't believe it. The most unbelievable part of the whole event had been just how quickly Bellatrix had stepped in to protect Hermione.

"You okay?" Hermione asked gently.

"Are you?"

"Not exactly the way I planned on seeing Ginny and Ron again," Hermione joked. She was silenced by the swift arrival of Bellatrix through the crowd.

"Hermione, there is someone we need to meet," Bellatrix said curtly, offering her hand. Hermione smiled apologetically at Fleur before following Bellatrix.

Fleur was at a loss, she had never been to one of these galas, except as a server. She didn't even know anyone here that she could talk to.

"Fleur?" a familiar voice called out. Stanley Shunpike was walking past with a platter of appetizers and had stopped to gape at her.

"Stan, how are you?" Fleur asked rather awkwardly.

"We thought you were dead!" Stan exclaims, almost dropping his platter, "What in Merlin's name are you doing here?"

"Ah, I'm here with Hermione," Fleur said awkwardly.

"Shouldn't you be in a server's outfit with a tray of drinks?" Pansy Parkinson said snarkily as she appeared with Malfoy and Crabbe flanking her.

"I'm here as a guest," Fleur replied coolly. Stan busied himself with his platter, head down, but was quietly observing.

"I wasn't aware they were admitting animals in here," Malfoy sneered, "Clearly standards are dropping."

"Maybe we should muzzle her before she starts mouthing off again," Pansy laughed, taking out her wand and playing with it.

"I've been waiting years for someone to muzzle _you_ , actually, Parkinson," Hermione smirked as she reappeared at Fleur's side. The trio of Slytherins fell silent, paling. Hermione snaked an arm around Fleur's waist and kissed her softly on the cheek.

"Are we going to have a problem?" Fleur smiled, arching an eyebrow. She was thoroughly amused by the effect Hermione's presence had on the Slytherins.

"N-no of course not," Pansy said awkwardly and she turned with Malfoy and Crabbe to leave, although Fleur could have sworn she could hear Malfoy muttering about Mudbloods and half-breeds.

"I can fight my own battles, you know," Fleur reminded Hermione gently.

"I know, but that's no fun for me," Hermione smirked before kissing Fleur lightly on the lips and grabbing her ass. Stanley blushed heavily and busied himself more frantically with his platter.

"How was the conversation with Bellatrix?" Fleur asked.

"She was taking me to meet with the Dark Lord. But the bright side is now you don't have to talk to him tonight."

The relief was visible on Fleur's face.

"Great, so now we just have to stay here as long as polite and then we can go home?" Fleur asked, relaxing.

"Even shorter than polite if I can help it," Hermione said with a coy smile, "I can't wait to get you home and out of that dress."

Stanley dropped his tray with a loud clatter.

* * *

Ginny awoke late the next morning. She had been up most of the night helping to stem the bleeding from Ron's wounds and reciting every curse word she knew. She yawned and stretched, getting up and walking out to the living room of the safe house.

"Ron okay then?" Harry chirped from the kitchen.

"Thankfully," Ginny retorted, smiling as Harry came in to join her bearing two cups of tea.

"I've never seen him this angry before," Harry commented, "He's hardly the bloodthirsty type."

"He was starting a _killing curse_ , Harry," Ginny said with a frown, cupping her hands around the hot mug of tea.

There was a tapping at the window and Harry cautiously drew back the blinds before opening the window slightly to let in a small crow. Taking a small roll of parchment from the crow, he let it back out again.

"Who's it from?"

"Stan by the looks," Harry answered, unfurling the parchment, "Says he saw Fleur last night at the gala."

"Yeah, I saw her too, hanging out with Hermione and Bellatrix like they were all best mates," Ginny said, frowning again, "I have no idea what's going on there. Was she there against her will?"

"Erm," Harry replied, lowering the parchment, "Stan says… erm, Stan says that Fleur is, ah, shagging Hermione. There was also talk of them meeting Voldemort."

Ginny spat out her tea.


	10. Hurt

**Chapter 9- Hurt**

* * *

Fleur was on her hands and knees as Hermione was taking her from behind with the strap on again. She was thankful for the silencing charm that Hermione had prudently cast earlier in the morning as another moan escaped her mouth. The rush from Hermione thrusting into her was like pure ecstasy, unlike anything she had ever quite experienced before. She could feel herself getting closer to the edge. And then suddenly Fleur was freefalling. Waves of pleasure crashed over her as she shuddered and moaned. Lying back on the bed panting, she wiped a sheen of sweat off her forehead.

Hermione soon joined her, hands behind her head as she lay down.

"Well I'm glad I did that now," Hermione said with a chuckle.

"Why?"

"Because I'm afraid that when I share more with you it might scare you off," Hermione said quietly, averting her eyes momentarily.

"You're going to actually share?" Fleur said, half joking, half genuinely surprised. She rolled onto her side, propping up her head with one hand. Her eyes scanned the now familiar pattern of scars across Hermione's body.

"Bella said she tried to read your mind a few times and had no luck," Hermione explained dismissively.

"Ah, so now you can tell me more without fear of her knowing you told me anything," Fleur surmised. Hermione nodded.

"Not everything is as simple as 'the Good side' and the 'Bad side,'" Hermione said quietly. So quietly that Fleur wasn't quite sure she had heard her properly.

"I want to bring down the Dark Lord," she continued, "But I don't want to be in the Order."

"Why not?" Fleur asked, confused. The Order was currently being led by McGonagall, who on all accounts, had been said to hold quite a rapport with Hermione.

"They hide things… From everyone. From each other," Hermione said rather bitterly, "The goal is so important to them that they don't even stop to consider the impact on the people around them. Do you know the number of times they kept important things from Harry, Ron and I?"

"Yes, but you yourself are guilty of hiding things, ma cherie," Fleur smiled.

"I'm not saying they're entirely bad," Hermione elaborated, "But I just knew that there was a very high chance that Harry and Ron would die if they tried to confront the Dark Lord at Hogwarts. And the Order wouldn't have cared. Another life given carelessly for the cause."

Fleur was lost for words. She certainly had noticed how cavalier the Order had been about deaths. When Bill was killed, Fleur had been constantly patted on the shoulder and told her it was worth it and it was all for the greater good.

"So why the Death Eaters?" she finally managed to get out.

"What better way to take down the Dark Lord than the inside?" Hermione smirked, "But also it allows me to work with Bellatrix. I know she would never in a million years leave me in a situation where I could be harmed or tortured."

"Why are you so close with her?" Fleur asked, eager to finally get a more solid answer on the topic. Hermione sighed.

"I know what you saw in that memory… and yes it was horrific," Hermione admitted, "But after it was done, she nursed me back to health slowly and with such care. She taught me all that she knew. She showed me her memories… And Fleur, Merlin, it's a miracle she's not _more_ fucked up than she is. She is the product of what she has been put through."

"So what? So now its suddenly normal to torture your best friends within an inch of their lives as long as you nurse them back to health?" Fleur exclaimed, losing her patience. Hermione shut her eyes for a moment, frustrated.

"Its more complicated than that. Bella hurts people as a way of control and defense and cruelty, yes. But she also hurts people as a way of learning how to trust them. When the torture finished, I felt stripped bare. Bella saw then that at my core I was just as lost and disillusioned as she is. She built me up so that I could never be hurt that badly again."

"But does she know that you don't want the Dark Lord in power?" Fleur prompted. Hermione bit her lip.

"No… I know she is fiercely loyal to me. I know she is willing to set aside a number of Death Eater beliefs, but I don't know if she is able to set aside her loyalty to the Dark Lord."

Fleur sighed, furrowing her brow.

"So betraying Harry and Ron…?"

"Was to keep them alive, yes."

"Hermione, if the Death Eaters were to find this out they would kill you," Fleur said with concern. Hermione smirked and shook her head.

"Its funny, I never really cared about that until we started seeing each other," Hermione smiled. Fleur leaned in and kissed her softly.

* * *

Narcissa swirled her glass of red wine around at the head of the table. She tapped her dark red nails against the glass irritatedly. It was bad enough that Hermione had interfered and snagged the Veela she had been eying up, but to move her into their house and cavort her around? That was too far.

Hermione herself chose this time to swoop into the room with a cup of coffee in one hand and Fleur's hand in her other.

"Bit early for wine don't you think?" Hermione commented coolly, raising an eyebrow. Narcissa shrugged.

"Its after lunch," Narcissa retorted. The glance between the two girls in front of her infuriated her. She didn't have Bellatrix's ability to use Legilimency, but she didn't need it to tell that Hermione and Fleur had clearly lost track of the time while screwing each other's brains out in Hermione's room. Narcissa gritted her teeth.

"Oh," Hermione smirked, taking a sip from her coffee. Merlin, Narcissa wanted to slap the smug grin off that Mudblood's face.

Bellatrix ducked into the room.

"Oh, Hermione, you're up! A word in my study?" she drawled. Hermione nodded and followed Bellatrix out of the room. Bellatrix never had as many private conversations with Narcissa. Narcissa's eyes drifted from the now empty doorway to the ravishing blonde Veela now standing uncomfortably.

"They are close aren't they?" Narcissa drawled with a cold smile. Hermione wasn't here to watch her precious Veela now.

"I suppose," Fleur said awkwardly.

"They are very similar you know," Narcissa pressed. She might not have Bellatrix's knack for Legilimency but she had other ways of crawling inside people's minds.

"Are they?" Fleur said dismissively, pouring herself a coffee. She wasn't biting… yet.

"I mean you know about Hermione's torture, surely," Narcissa said lightly, swirling her wine again.

"Of course," Fleur said curtly, looking up now. Narcissa suppressed a smile.

"Bella broke her down… The same way she has been broken down… They are the same now," Narcissa said, slowly smiling before taking a sip of her wine.

"And what is wrong with that?" Fleur said, irritation beginning to show in her voice now.

"They're both… dark… unpredictable… dangerous," Narcissa said slowly and quietly. You could almost hear a pin drop in the room. "The violence Bella is infamous for, Hermione has it too. You can't take away that darkness from her now."

"I'm fine with Hermione, I trust her," Fleur said, tightening her jaw. Narcissa smirked. She was getting under her skin now. She drained the last of her wine and stood up, crossing the room to stand closely to Fleur. She began to ran a hand down Fleur's arm.

"She will hurt you. I guarantee it," Narcissa sneered, "And when she does, come to me."

"Stop it," Fleur said harshly, stepping back from Narcissa.

Bellatrix and Hermione re-entered the room.

"What is going on?" Bellatrix asked coldly, looking from her sneering sister to the angry looking Fleur. It looked like Fleur was about to hit Narcissa.

"She's trying to scare me away from Hermione," Fleur said through gritted teeth. Bellatrix immediately strode forward and put a wand to Narcissa's neck.

"What did I tell you, sister?" Bellatrix said coldly, her eyes flashing with a wildness that unsettled Fleur.

"Apologies," Narcissa drawled before nodding her head and exiting the room.

"If she does that again, let me know," Bellatrix said to Fleur, before following Narcissa out of the room.

Hermione immediately came and threw her arms around Fleur possessively.

"What did Cissy say?" she growled.

"She told me you would hurt me," Fleur said bitterly, "I wanted to hit her so badly."

Hermione chuckled, "Well you have my permission to next time. You don't think I would hurt you, would you?"

"Of course not," Fleur replied, relaxing into Hermione's arms. But her thoughts were now on the horrific stories of violence she had heard about Bellatrix. Surely Hermione didn't have that side to her… Hermione kissed her cheek.

"Let me come with you to gather your things from that _shack,_ " Hermione smiled, rubbing Fleur's shoulders. Fleur nodded. She wasn't relishing the thought of finally returning to the dwelling she shared with Neville to collect her things. It was going to be uncomfortable telling him she was with Hermione, let alone explaining she was moving out to be with Hermione.

"Sure, lets go," Fleur said, a smile flickering a little at her mouth. Hermione frowned a little, she clearly knew Fleur was nervous.

"It'll be fine, I promise," Hermione murmured, before the usual black smoke appeared, signaling their imminent apparation.

With a _crack_ Fleur and Hermione arrived in front of the squalid block of flats. Fleur was still facing Hermione and noticed the brunette's mouth tighten.

"What is it?" Fleur asked as she turned around to face the flat.

In bright red spray-paint, emblazoned diagonally across the door and some of the surrounding walls was the word: _'TRAITOR.'_

"Maybe its about Neville?" Hermione said hopefully, putting an arm around Fleur's shoulders, "Lets just get your stuff and go."

Hermione pushed open the door with a rough shove and they stepped inside. Fleur's mouth fell open as she saw all of her belongings had been strewn around the room. Hermione and Fleur began to pick up the belongings in silence.

"I suppose I had this coming for leaving them so suddenly," Fleur said morosely, looking up at Hermione. Hermione had paused and was touching her arm.

"I'm so sorry Fleur but I have to go," she said suddenly, gesturing to her Dark Mark. She flashed her an apologetic smile, "I'll see you at home though?"

Fleur nodded solemnly as Hermione swiftly apparated away. Fleur turned back to gathering her things from around the room.

"At home, huh?" a voice rang out. Fleur straightened up and turned to face Ginny, who was standing suddenly in the middle of the room.

"Ginny, what are you doing here?" Fleur exclaimed. Ginny crossed her arms, keeping a distance from Fleur.

"I had to see if it was true… That you and _her…_ " Ginny trailed off.

"I'm seeing her, oui," Fleur said rather guiltily.

"Fleur! You're sleeping with the enemy!" Ginny exclaimed, "Not to mention attending the very Death Eater events you loathed!"

"I still loathe them, Ginny," Fleur said calmly, "But Hermione is different. She cares, she's doing the right thing."

"The _right thing?!_ " Ginny bellowed, "Since when is being a follower of Voldemort been the right thing?!"

"Its not like that, Gin," Fleur countered, "There's more to it! There is still good in her!"

"She killed Shacklebolt," Ginny said grimly, "She betrayed her best friends. And she's going to hurt you too,"

"I'm sick of people telling me that!" Fleur retorted, "I _know_ Hermione and I trust her! You always told me that you wished there was a part of the old Hermione left. You should be overjoyed, Ginny!"

"I'm not, I'm worried for you," Ginny said grimly, her arms still crossed, "You're getting in too deep."

"Ginny… Talk to her yourself…" Fleur tried to reason, "You'll see what she's like,"

Ginny shook her head, turning and beginning to walk to the doorway.

"Be careful, Fleur."

* * *

Bellatrix and Hermione sat across the table from Voldemort as he tented his fingers in front of his face. His blood red eyes glared at them from over his long fingernails.

"Do you know how long Harry Potter and his friends have been on the run from Azkaban for now?" he said in a cold, quiet, dangerous voice.

"I know, my Lord," Bellatrix said, bowing her head. She subtly put a hand on Hermione's knee, prompting Hermione to bow her head too.

"It is _unacceptable,_ " Voldemort continued, "They are making us look like powerless fools!"

"What can we do, my Lord?" Bellatrix asked. Voldemort clenched his hands into fists.

"I don't want them back in Azkaban. I want them dead." Voldemort said through clenched teeth.

"It shall be done my Lord," Bellatrix said, bowing her head again, "But if we fail?"

This last comment pushed Voldemort over the edge. He pointed his wand at Bellatrix and she fell to the floor, suffering a nasty crucio curse. Hermione clenched her jaw.

Ginny walked back into the safe house, slamming the door.

Harry jumped from his spot beside Luna on the couch.

"Something wrong?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows.

"We have to confront Hermione," Ginny said irritably, "Its about time we talk to her face to face."

"Really? When? How?" Harry asked, his interest piqued.

"Tonight. We break into their place," Ginny said, folding her arms, "Are you in?"

"I'm sure the others would be interested in a spot of fresh air tonight," Luna replied dreamily.

"I'm in," Harry replied. Truth be told he had been wanting to talk to Hermione ever since that fateful day at Hogwarts when she had stunned him. He knew there was something deeper going on. Harry himself had a tendency for taking too much on his own shoulders. This was something Hermione had always had in common with him, but usually she stuck to worrying about getting the three of them to pass their classes and survive.

"Great, lets start preparing," Ginny said with resolve.

* * *

Fleur was waiting in Hermione's room when Hermione rushed in, slamming the door before walking up to a wall and punching it as hard as she could.

"Hermione!" Fleur called out, running over to Hermione and grabbing her arm to stop her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hermione said bitterly, but her eyes were full of darkness and despair. She pushed Fleur up against the wall and began kissing her neck and running her hands over the blonde's body.

"No—Hermione, tell me what's wrong," Fleur spluttered, as Hermione pushed her harder against the wall. Suddenly she gasped as Hermione bit down on her neck, hard.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, immediately leaping back, "I just… I get the urge to do that sometimes,"

Fleur looked at Hermione in disbelief, her hand clapped to her neck. As she removed it she widened her eyes at the blood on her hand.

"What is wrong with you?" Fleur exclaimed.

"I don't know," Hermione said, throwing her hands in the air.

"Why can't you just be straight forward?" Fleur continued, "Always hiding things… I never know whether you're going to hurt me or help me!"

"You don't mean that," Hermione said, looking hurt, "I opened up to you more than I've opened up to anyone. You said you trusted me!"

"You just hurt me!" Fleur retorted, her hand returning to her neck. She walked away from Hermione, exiting the room and shutting the door behind her. She leaned against the door. She didn't even have anywhere to go. She had no home of her own anymore, no friends… She had put everything into her trust and feelings for Hermione.

"Big fight?" Narcissa smirked, opening the door across the hall and leaning against the doorway. She was wearing a deep red dressing gown.

"None of your business," Fleur said, biting her lip and looking away. Narcissa's eyes flicked to Fleur's neck.

"She hurt you," murmured Narcissa softly.

"She didn't mean to," Fleur countered weakly. Narcissa shook her head.

"Bella often doesn't mean to either," she said, clucking her tongue, "Come, let me heal that for you."

"No, I'm fine…" Fleur said uncomfortably. Narcissa cocked her head to one side, observing her.

"You're not," Narcissa surmised, "Don't you think I know what it feels like? Friendless in Death Eater circles because I have a tendency to _socialise_ with those of magical creature blood. Its lonely in this world. I know what its like to live with Bella and Hermione. So dark, so closed off…"

Fleur shot a look at Narcissa in the dark hallway. Narcissa seemed sincere.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have this looked at…" Fleur agreed. Narcissa smiled and stepped back to allow Fleur into her room.


	11. Confrontations

**Chapter 10: Confrontations**

* * *

Narcissa led Fleur to stand in front of her fireplace and rubbed her shoulders comfortingly with a smile. She then plucked a vial off a shelf and offered it to Fleur.

"It will take a few moments but this will heal it up very well," Narcissa smiled.

"Thank you," Fleur said quietly, looking at the flames in the fireplace.

"You seem shaken up," Narcissa commented, taking a hairbrush and beginning to brush Fleur's long silver-blonde hair. Fleur visibly relaxed. Narcissa didn't know it, but back home, her mother and Gabrielle would often brush her hair in the evenings and she would return the favour. She found it incredibly relaxing.

"Its hard to adjust to this new Hermione," Fleur murmured, still watching the fire, "But I do feel bad for second guessing her."

"I don't blame you," Narcissa replied, "Bella can be quite unpredictable at times too, it takes some getting used to."

"I know she didn't really mean to hurt me," Fleur continued, "It just startled me… Especially after everyone warning me that she could harm me,"

Narcissa put down the hairbrush and returned to standing in front of Fleur, her hands on her shoulders.

"Fleur, darling," she purred, "Its perfectly normal to be startled. It was a rather nasty looking wound…"

She brushed Fleur's hair back from her neck, looking closely at where the wound had been. It had healed up nicely. Fleur could feel Narcissa's breath on her neck and felt the same vague thrill of danger she always felt when Narcissa was near.

Narcissa's lips brushed Fleur's neck and Fleur shivered.

There was a _bang_ as the door slammed open and a masked wizard stormed in, dragging an incensed looking Hermione and holding a wand to her neck.

Fleur stepped back from Narcissa, both drawing their wands.

"Don't even think about it Death Eaters," the masked figure growled as he dug the wand point harder into Hermione's neck. Narcissa shrugged and began casting a curse but Fleur quickly slapped her hand onto Narcissa's arm to stop her.

"I thought so," the figure rumbled, jerking his head to indicate they should walk into the hallway.

The women were led to the small wine cellar and had their wands confiscated. The masked figure shoved Hermione roughly in after them.

"And don't think for a second we were stupid enough not to prevent apparation in here," he snarled, before slamming the door behind him and unlocking it.

"What the fuck was _that_ that we just walked in on?!" Hermione immediately demanded, looking from Narcissa to Fleur.

"Maybe if you hadn't _maimed_ your girlfriend she wouldn't have come running to me," Narcissa sneered.

"She didn't come running to you…" Hermione spat, before looking unsure, "…Did you, Fleur?"

"Hermione, surely we have more pressing things on our minds?!" Fleur exclaimed, gesturing wildly around the wine cellar.

"How? We have wine and eventually Bella will come home and make short work of them," Narcissa sniffed, "Really the only thing we have to worry about is the inevitable _remains_ we will have to clean up."

Narcissa's mouth quirked into a smile at the thought as she began to peruse the bottles of wine along the shelves.

Hermione brushed past her roughly to move closer to Fleur, lowering her voice.

"I'm sorry if I scared you earlier… These days my natural instincts aren't always the best," Hermione said apologetically before her face darkened, "But I hope Narcissa was exaggerating. Even if you were to leave me, I would hope you would avoid her. She would just use you and hurt you Fleur."

"Shockingly I can still hear you from three paces away," Narcissa interjected with a drawl, dusting off an old bottle of pinot noir, "And I would argue you would be the one that would use her and hurt her. You are a chip off the old Bella block after all."

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to Fleur, taking her hands.

"I need you to trust me Fleur, I would never intentionally hurt you," Hermione murmured, locking eyes with Fleur. Fleur looked down for a moment, unsure, before meeting Hermione's intense gaze.

"I do… I was just startled. Narcissa offered to help and I just needed to talk to someone else about everything," Fleur explained. Hermione's face softened.

"I understand," Hermione said with a small lopsided smile, "I'm hardly the same Hermione you are used to after all."

Fleur nodded and Hermione leaned in, pecking Fleur softly on the lips. Narcissa groaned and rapped her bottle of pinot against the door.

"If you could come back and stun me, that would be great!" Narcissa melodramatically called through the locked door. Hermione sneered at her and came to snatch the bottle out of Narcissa's hands, taking a long swig.

"So who do you think it is out there?" Hermione asked casually.

"Who do you think?" Narcissa replied waspishly, "No doubt your Order friends out for blood. If you had just taken out that Weasley girl when I suggested, none of this would have happened."

"If it hadn't been Ginny it would have been someone else," Hermione shrugged, "It was inevitable."

Narcissa took her bottle of wine back roughly and took a long drink from it.

"Sure, you don't have a weakness for people from your past _at all,_ " Narcissa said sarcastically.

"I think her murdering Monsieur Shacklebolt is proof enough of her indifference," Fleur interjected. Narcissa simply raised her eyebrows before taking another drink of wine.

"How long do you think until Bellatrix gets back?" Hermione asked, beginning to pace around the room impatiently.

"I would think you would know my sister's schedule better than me," Narcissa said silkily, though her narrowed eyes betrayed her jealousy. Hermione shook her head, before walking over to the door and kicking it as hard as she could.

Narcissa walked over to Fleur, offering her the bottle of wine. Fleur took a drink.

"I imagine she is just as tumultuous to be around as a lover," Narcissa lilted, cocking her head to one side, "I do hope your trust in her is warranted."

"This isn't the time to be second guessing each other," Fleur replied stoutly.

"Of course not," Narcissa replied with an easy smile, whirling to turn to the shelf of wine again, "This is the time to drink up and wait for Bella and her infamous nature to strike."

* * *

Harry and Ginny were standing in the dining room as Ron, Luna and Neville entered, pulling off their dark masks.

"You didn't hurt any of them, did you?" Harry asked Ron. Ron's hair was sticking up at odd angles from pulling his mask off and he was scratching at his patchy beard agitatedly.

"Course not," he grunted, "Not yet, anyway,"

"Ron…" Ginny began in a warning voice.

"C'mon there's still one missing anyway," Ron interrupted gruffly, "That Bellatrix bitch has gotta be somewhere in this place. Intel said they didn't have any plans tonight."

Ginny looked at Harry uneasily. But Luna and Neville nodded, putting their heavy black masks back on again. Ron followed suit, drawing his wand.

"Best get to it then," Neville said, anger lacing his voice. Harry worried. It wasn't Order policy to go around killing… But these days half the members seemed to hold blood grudges against Death Eaters. Harry wasn't convinced they were going to be leaving the building tonight without at least one life lost.

"Erm, Gin and I will go watch the cellar door," Harry piped up, "Wouldn't want anyone escaping after all."

Ron just nodded before leaving the room.

Harry shot another meaningful look at Ginny before taking her hand. They headed off in the direction of the cellar.

Bellatrix wasn't stupid. She had known the second she had arrived back home that the house was compromised. She had remained in the shadows, slipping undetected around the periphery of the house as the clumsy Order members had bundled Cissy, Hermione and Fleur into the wine cellar.

 _'Well, Narcissa should be appeased slightly by the wine at least,'_ Bellatrix smirked to herself. In reality, she knew it wouldn't take long to rid her house of the vermin. They were naïve, raised in the light and innocence. They didn't know how to operate in the shadows. They didn't know how to truly be ruthless.

Bellatrix walked quickly through a doorway before ducking to the side of a cabinet. Those fools. Simple disillusionment charms and silencing charms on herself and she was hiding in plain sight. She was confident they wouldn't look too closely in her direction. They were too _trusting_ at their core. Trusting of their comrades, trusting of their surroundings… This is exactly why it had been so laughably easy for Hermione to betray them.

Bellatrix's mind slipped momentarily to Hermione. She frowned at the thought of Hermione locked in the cellar. Hermione didn't much care for enclosed spaces, they made her agitated. Bellatrix bit her lip. She would have to dispose of these Order members briskly then, to spare Hermione extended discomfort.

Bellatrix stepped along a hallway, following one of the masked figures. She felt like a predator stalking its prey. This intruder was completely oblivious to the fact they were being tailed. Bellatrix reached into their mind.

A hideous kaleidoscope of wild colours, shapes and figures almost blinded Bellatrix and she withdrew from the mind immediately. Whoever this poor girl was had succumbed to the madness the inmates had often fallen victim to at Azkaban. Bellatrix remembered the way they had slowly slipped into vague unawareness during her stay there. Even upon their release the degradation of their mental state had not ceased. Bellatrix remembered Hermione expressing concern about an already dreamy former friend who had been sent to Azkaban. She had said the girl was sent there unfairly and would almost certainly suffer the fate of madness that Bellatrix had described. Bellatrix frowned, her lapse in concentration causing her to knock a vase.

"Oh dear, that's going to make an awful mess," a foggy feminine voice said slowly as the masked intruder turned around, wand raised. Bellatrix stunned her quickly. She couldn't bring herself to kill this one. Maybe she was going soft.

Bellatrix stepped over the unconscious body, not even bothering to hide it. She padded softly up the stairs, catching sight of another masked figure skulking around. She walked silently towards this one, once again reaching her mind out to read the intruder's.

Graphic violent images of a redheaded boy hurting Hermione entered her mind. Ronald Weasley. Further violent images ran through Bellatrix's mind before she withdrew. The anger of the Weasley boy was igniting her own rage. She would tear him limb from limb for coming here to hurt Hermione. A crooked smile grew on her face as she allowed herself to recede into the dark recesses of her own mind. She raised her wand. The rest would follow. She could always rely on her instincts to find the appropriate way to harm someone.

* * *

Hermione stood with her head pressed against the cool wood of the cellar door. Of course she knew the person who had been holding the wand to her neck. She didn't even need to read his mind to know. She recognized the wand. She recognized the hand. She recognized the very scent of him. She had spent so many years in close quarters with Ron Weasley she could recognize him in any ridiculous disguise as well as she could recognize Harry.

Truth be told, she couldn't blame him for the thoughts that had been running through his head. She had betrayed him. He had tried so hard to get her to confront her feelings for Fleur throughout the years after his first bungled reference to it. He had been nothing but supportive. She knew that had been hard for him. They had been each other's first kiss. Ron had harboured strong feelings for her. But he had put it aside to be a friend and help her as she struggled with her sexuality. She wondered if she could figure out what was happening outside the room with Legilimency. She had pried into people's minds from the next room before, but she had no idea where in the house anyone could be right now.

She reached out wildly, gritting her teeth at the effort to push her mind outside of the cellar and further into the house. Nothing. Hermione punched the door restlessly. She reached out again, this time getting a faint read of Bellatrix's mind. It was seething. Bellatrix was giving in to her darker side, winding herself up to tear some poor fool limb from limb. Hermione squinted her eyes shut harder, trying to read more clearly. Then she caught a faint glimmer of it. Ron.

Hermione balled her hands into fists so tight she could feel her nails cutting into her palms. She would probably only have one shot in sending a thought through to Bellatrix from this far away. It might not even work with Bella in this state. Hermione focused, closing her eyes once more.

 _"Don't hurt him Bellatrix. He can be a temperamental prat but he doesn't deserve death."_

Hermione exhaled heavily, retracting her mind again. It had been an exhausting effort.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Fleur asked, her cerulean eyes shining in concern. Hermione felt her chest ache a little at how often she worried the blonde.

"I'm fine," Hermione smiled, conscious of Narcissa's narrowed eyes on her, "Just give me some of that wine before Narcissa drinks it all, huh?"

Narcissa glared at her as Fleur handed her a bottle to swig at. Hermione was looping an arm around Fleur's waist and beginning to relax a little when there was a shuffling and unmistakeable sound of the door unlocking.

"Ah, finally," Narcissa exclaimed, pushing roughly past Hermione as the door opened, "What took you so long Bella?"

The words died on Narcissa's lips as she saw who was standing in the doorway.


	12. Changing Tactics

**Chapter 11—Changing Tactics**

* * *

"Ginny?" Fleur finally broke the silence.

Ginny and Harry were standing in the doorway. Both were surveying Narcissa and Hermione with caution, as if they were unsure if they should have opened the door.

"Fleur… Are you okay?" Ginny asked, "They haven't hurt you have they?"

"Non, I am still fine," Fleur answered with a relieved smile, "Are you deciding to let us out?"

"We… We just don't want you getting hurt," Ginny admitted, "Ron is getting a little heavy handed these days."

"Mn, well maybe you should keep her away from Hermione then," Narcissa sneered, "I did have to clean her up after Hermione hurt her earlier,"

"Cissy, easy on, it was an accident" Hermione interrupted waspishly, she was tiring of Narcissa's attitude towards her.

"Hermione? You _hurt_ Fleur?" Ginny asked, narrowing her eyes. Her hand clenched on her wand. Her temper flared blindingly, "I _knew_ I couldn't trust that you were still the old Hermione!"

Harry and Ginny's wands suddenly flew out of their hands with a red flash.

"I would back off from Hermione if I were you," Bellatrix threatened huskily, appearing behind Harry and Ginny. "How convenient that so soon after the Dark Lord orders their deaths that the child Order members appear in my very own home…"

Harry whirled around and stood in front of Ginny to protect her from Bellatrix.

"Bella… You can't," Hermione interrupted. Bellatrix paused and looked at Hermione, confused.

"'Mione, you know its an order," Bellatrix hissed, looking from Hermione to Harry and Ginny.

"Bella… Don't kill them," Hermione requested earnestly. Narcissa looked from Hermione to Bellatrix incredulously.

"Bella, come on! This is just what we need to get back in the Dark Lord's favour!" Narcissa cut in. Bellatrix still had her wand poised and eyed her sister before looking at Hermione.

"Hermione, what is the meaning of this?" Bellatrix asked.

"Bella, you and I trust each other with everything," Hermione said, "Trust me with this."

"Bella! Come _on_!" Narcissa exclaimed, "I've never seen you hesitate like this!"

Bellatrix suddenly stormed into the cellar with a growl, her wand still raised at Harry and Ginny. She reached out an arm and the familiar black smoke of apparation began to appear around her. Hermione and Narcissa automatically took Bellatrix's arm. Hermione reached out to Fleur as they began to disapparate but at the last minute Ginny lunged forward and yanked Fleur back. The Black sisters and Hermione disappeared with a _crack._

"Ginny, what the hell?!" Fleur exploded, pulling away from the redhead.

"No 'thanks for saving me, Ginny?' at all?" Ginny retorted, crossing her arms.

"Saving me?" Fleur replied angrily, "You don't even know what you're talking about."

"Oh so you really are a traitor then?" Ginny hissed, stepping forward and shoving Fleur, "You want Voldemort to stay in power?"

"Of course I don't!" Fleur countered.

"Guys, stop it," Harry interjected finally, "Dya think the anti-apparation curse stopped because Bellatrix broke it or because Ron…?"

"Shit, we need to check on him," Ginny agreed, "Fleur, you're coming with us."

"As if I have a choice," Fleur muttered irritably.

* * *

Back at the Order safehouse, Harry fussed over healing the multiple nasty cuts, welts and boils inflicted on him from Bellatrix. But Ron was alive… and that was a lot more than Harry had expected from an encounter with Bellatrix Lestrange. He couldn't get the strange stand-off with Hermione out of his head. Hermione had… protected them? The hope that Harry had kept alive since Hermione had betrayed them was burning inside him again. That maybe, just maybe, Hermione knew what she was doing and it wasn't necessarily bad…

Ginny was looking cautiously at Fleur on a moth-eaten couch… as if Fleur might either break or spontaneously combust.

"So you're not pro-Death Eater… But you're with Hermione? Like one of _the_ Death Eaters?" Ginny asked, kicking her shoes against the scratched wooden floor.

"She…" Fleur sighed heavily, "She wants to make things good again… But she doesn't want any of us hurt either."

"Sure lives were lost at the Battle of Hogwarts… But its not like we were _definitely_ going to get hurt," Ginny defended, "Why couldn't she have stayed with the Order? Fought with us?"

"They were sending Harry into a death trap. The Order didn't care whether the trio survived or not." Fleur responded, "Hermione cared too much about all of you to risk your lives like that."

"And she isn't risking them now? By banishing us to the margins of society?" Ginny frowned.

"Didn't you see how she got Bellatrix to back down? Don't you see how we've all managed to get through so far without dying?" Fleur defended. She crossed her arms.

"So what?" Ginny challenged, "What would you have us do?"

"Trust one of your oldest friends," Fleur replied, "She's been broken… She's been beaten down… But she still has all our interests at heart. Instead of trying to get her to join our side, why don't we try to help her with hers?"

* * *

Narcissa skulked around the room, clutching a glass of red wine and glaring across at Bellatrix and Hermione who were deep in conversation across the room.

"Wow, those two are just about as close as… Well, as close as _you_ and Bellatrix used to be," Fenrir Greyback snorted, sitting down in an armchair near Narcissa.

"Oh, shut up, wolf," Narcissa hissed, before coming to sit with Fenrir. She kept glaring at her sister and Hermione.

"Still jealous of the golden girl then?" Fenrir smirked. He sipped at a bottle of beer in his large coarse hands.

"Hardly," Narcissa frowned.

"Please," Fenrir scoffed, "She stole your sister and then she stole a plaything you had your eye on. Don't even pretend it doesn't bother you seeing her cosy up with your sister and having that Veela toy on her arm, I've seen your face."

"The Veela is gone for now," Narcissa said coldly, struggling to keep her voice even.

"So now you just need to get her away from your sister?" Fenrir smirked, "You should get onto that before she leads Bellatrix further astray. The Dark Lord isn't going to be very forgiving if he finds out that Bella didn't kill Harry Potter and his cronies when she had the chance."

"I know…" Narcissa said silkily, narrowing her eyes, "I will take care of it."

"And then you'll go back to being the golden girl of the Death Eaters eh?" Fenrir chuckled. He licked his tongue over his unusually sharp canine teeth. He had always looked a little wolfish, even without transforming.

"Fenrir, dear, do you have any stationery in this house of yours? I think I may have to send something out this evening," Narcissa said with a sly smile, draining the last of her wine.

"Something to a certain Dark Lord, yeah?" Fenrir grunted with a grin, getting up to lumber out of the room.

* * *

"The Dark Lord will be returning to the region," McGonagall informed, sweeping in to the safehouse living room, where half of the Order members were currently squatting.

"Really?" Ron said, sitting up a bit straighter, "Hell, what're we gonna do?"

"We move in, try to pick off some of the Death Eaters that will begin to flock to the area for whatever meeting he will be holding," McGonagall said firmly. She turned abruptly and walked back out of the room. Ginny got up quickly, pulling Harry after her by the arm.

"Wait, Prof—erm, Minerva," Ginny said, catching up to McGonagall in the kitchen. McGonagall sighed wearily, halting in the kitchen, but beginning to make a cup of tea.

"You… You care whether we live or not, right?" Ginny asked. Harry looked at her like she had sprouted a second head.

"Well, of course we need as many live Order members as possible," McGonagall said tersely.

"Its just… You don't want us to die for the cause, do you?" Ginny asked, "You would never send us into a suicide mission… would you?"

McGonagall sighed again and slammed her teacup down on the kitchen. She looked weary of the world.

"Freedom costs lives," McGonagall replied flatly, "If you aren't prepared to sacrifice yourself for the cause, this is probably the wrong place for you."

"I mean… We aren't afraid to risk our lives," Harry defended.

"But it is a little concerning if you don't seem to care how dangerous a mission is before sending us…" Ginny interjected, "How likely was the Battle of Hogwarts to succeed without Harry, Ron or Hermione dying?"

"Would you like a cup of tea?" McGonagall asked coldly. Harry raised his eyebrows.

"How likely was it?" Harry asked, bewildered.

"Almost certain," McGonagall replied finally, "But the deaths would have spurred more to our cause. They would have been martyrs for the Order."

"Jesus," Harry replied softly, looking at McGonagall with surprise, "Was that what that mission was really for?"

"Do you know how many impressionable students would have seen your sacrifice? How many would have gone home and told their friends and family about the Order?" McGonagall replied. Harry shook his head.

"We trust you… We trust that you've done your homework on the missions and strategized them," Harry said in disbelief.

"Its not like the rest of us don't put ourselves in danger," McGonagall hissed.

"Do you?" Ginny countered, "When was the last time you or Dumbledore were at the front lines? No. You skulk in the shadows where you're safe."

"That is _enough_ Ginerva," McGonagall cut in, "I suggest you stop questioning the _good side_ and focus on your mission ahead."

She abandoned her cup of tea, sweeping out of the room.

* * *

Fleur was lying on her side on a threadbare couch, a patchy blanket pulled over her. She couldn't sleep. It was so hard falling asleep without Hermione now. They had been together such a relatively short time, but she felt uncontrollably drawn to the girl. Her chest ached from the pain of separation.

"You awake?" Ginny asked softly, coming to sit on the floor near her head.

"Oui," Fleur said dejectedly.

"So I know McGonagall doesn't want you going on Order missions just yet because of your, erm, relations with Hermione," Ginny tried to say tactfully.

"What of it?" Fleur said gloomily.

"I think you should come with me and Harry," Ginny said.

"Why?" Fleur replied, sitting up slightly.

"Because I trust you," Ginny replied, "I trust Hermione."


	13. Reunions

**Chapter 12—Reunions**

* * *

Hermione was becoming increasingly suspicious of Narcissa. Especially since seeing the way she had pounced on Fleur the second that she saw an opening. Since arriving at Fenrir's house, Narcissa had been acting even more shady. Hermione already knew from Bellatrix that Fenrir and Narcissa had been close growing up before Fenrir was infected with lycanthropy. Hermione wouldn't be surprised if they were conspiring somehow.

More often than not, Narcissa was smiling her smug little smile that Hermione hadn't seen for a while. Fenrir also seemed suspiciously gleeful.

"Bella, are you sure about this?" Hermione asked, turning to the pale woman with dark tendrils of hair.

"'Mione, you are probably the only person I trust fully in this wretched world," Bellatrix laughed hollowly.

Her skeletal hand rubbed at her bony arm. She had never quite recovered to her former state since Azkaban. Sometimes Hermione wondered if her eyes looked as dead inside as Bellatrix's.

"It could be the worst decision you ever make," Hermione said softly. Bellatrix put her hand on Hermione's arm.

"I doubt it would be the worst," Bellatrix said quietly, her hands running over the scars on Hermione's arm that spelled out the word _Mudblood._

"In this fucked up world we can't get caught up on past mistakes," Hermione said more firmly, pulling her arm from Bellatrix's grasp, "After all, the past mistakes are what made us who we are."

Bellatrix smiled a ghost of a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Hermione knew they were both far from who they were before Voldemort. In the early days, Hermione used to direct all of her blame at Bellatrix for the temper and the anger that existed deep within her. Most of all for the numbness. But now she realized that before her torture had been Bellatrix's torture, and before Bellatrix's was another's torture… On and on in an endless cycle of violence that never seemed like it was going to end. Until now. Hermione was determined to break the cycle.

Her determination had only crystallised since Fleur had fallen back into her life. Fleur, who she had long found attractive in a passing way she never would have dared admit, somehow found a way to cut through the numbness. To make her feel again, in the best possible way.

Hermione sipped at a brandy as she suspiciously eyed Narcissa and Fenrir walking outside the window. The light at the end of the tunnel had never seemed so bright. She wasn't about to let anyone plunge her back into darkness when she was so close.

* * *

Narcissa tucked her white-blonde hair behind her ear as she strolled amongst the grounds with Fenrir. She had her arm looped around Fenrir's, the same way they used to walk when they were twelve.

"Your parents left you this grand estate even after cutting you off for so long?" Narcissa commented, looking around the grounds.

"I guess in death they finally got over being associated with a filthy werewolf," Fenrir replied with a toothy smile.

"Remember when we were children and we thought we would have it all?" Narcissa smiled, grasping tighter at Fenrir's arm.

"Don't we?" Fenrir replied, "I am more powerful than ever… You finally rid yourself of that insufferable Lucius… I inherited my loathsome parents' estate… You always seem to find a source to satiate that appetite of yours for Veelas," Fenrir chuckled.

"Until recently," Narcissa replied bitterly, "Until that horrible 'Golden Girl' strolled in and took everything that should be mine. I don't know why everyone fawns over a plain mudblood like her instead of a pureblood who is actually gifted with looks."

She pulled her arm back from Fenrir, crossing her arms and looking at him haughtily.

"Has anyone told you that you were named aptly?" Fenrir laughed, "Easily the most narcissistic woman I have ever met."

Narcissa shoved him.

"Easy, Cissy," he soothed, "All will be back to normal in no time."

* * *

Hermione felt a familiar burning and looked down at the Dark Mark brand on her arm. Her lips quirked in a cold smile. Another brand, another scar… By the time this war was over her body would be unrecognizable.

"'Mione, time to see the Dark Lord," Bella sung out to her from the doorway, her sleeve similarly hitched up to the elbow to reveal her Dark Mark.

Narcissa swooped over with her favourite fur coat and diamond dangling earrings. She slung an arm around Bellatrix.

"Yes, time to go dearests," Narcissa smiled widely.

"What has you in such an uncharacteristically good mood, Cissy?" Bellatrix asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Nothing in particular, sister," Narcissa, "Shall we head out before we're late?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes but donned a coat and followed the sisters out the doorway.

After apparating to the venue, Hermione looked around. Predictably, Voldemort's presence had attracted a large number of Death Eaters. Some were masked, others weren't. Hermione found that since Voldemort had risen to power, Death Eaters masks had dipped in popularity. People were proud of their affiliation with Voldemort.

Narcissa was acting even more smug now that her and Fenrir were rushing forward through the throngs to meet Voldemort. Hermione rolled her eyes and went to seek out a drink. Preferably a strong one.

She pushed roughly through the crowd before halting in her tracks.

"Fleur?"

Standing in front of her, radiant amongst the dull Death Eaters, was Fleur Delacour herself. Her long silver-blonde hair was loose and cascading down her shoulders.

"Oui, ma belle," Fleur smiled, moving forward swiftly to take Hermione in her arms and hug her tightly.

"I thought you were off with those Order members… I thought you would stay with Ginny and Harry," Hermione swallowed hard, wanting to keep her tightly held composure, "I'm so sorry I hurt you."

"You're not the same person you were," Fleur said softly into her ear, Hermione stiffened, "But that's okay… I trust you, Hermione, and I want to be with you,"

Hermione buried her face into Fleur's neck. Fleur's soft silky hair was tickling at her skin and her perfume was intoxicating. Hermione kissed her lightly before withdrawing.

"I don't know what I would do without you, Fleur," Hermione said quietly, before re-donning her uncaring façade and taking Fleur's hand.

"Ginny and Harry are here too," Fleur said under her breath, "Somewhere… They want to meet you and talk about helping you."

"They…" Hermione processed this news for a moment before an incoming figure made her frown and trail off. Narcissa swept over, her suspiciously wide smile still present.

"Hermione," Narcissa greeted, before her eyes moved to take in Fleur. Narcissa's gaze raked Fleur's figure in a way that made Hermione want to growl and slap her. Instead, Hermione settled for tightening her grip around Fleur's waist protectively. Narcissa's smile dropped a little and she narrowed her eyes.

"Your Veela is back… Charming," Narcissa said distastefully, "Anyway, I am here to tell you that the Dark Lord requests a private audience with you and Bella. You are due in the back room."

"Great, thanks Cissy," Hermione said curtly.

"Erm, I will go and get us some refreshments for when you are done," Fleur said softly. She smoothed down Hermione's coat and brushed some lint off a shoulder before kissing her encouragingly on the cheek, "I will see you soon."

Hermione nodded and left swiftly.

Fleur was left alone with Narcissa, who was again eying her in a predatory way.

"I can have a drink with you while you wait for your mudblood," Narcissa drawled, reaching a hand to brush a strand of Fleur's hair behind her ear.

"Je suis désolé," Fleur said, removing Narcissa's hand from her, "I must freshen up,"

She smiled tightly at Narcissa before ducking through the crowd and finding the nearest exit. Fleur had barely stepped into the hallway when she was pushed roughly against a wall. The grizzled face of Fenrir was centimeters from her own, his hot sour breath escaping past his pointed teeth to wash over her face.

"Excusez-moi," Fleur said in a fake-cheerful voice, releasing some of her thrall and beginning to push Fenrir away from her.

"That won't work on me, Veela," Fenrir growled, shoving Fleur harder into the wall. Fleur hissed in pain.

"Oh good, you caught her," Narcissa drawled, entering the hallway. Fenrir grinned at her toothily.

"Merde," Fleur choked, "Narcissa, when Hermione finds out about this she will have your head,"

Narcissa laughed, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"Unfortunately I don't think she will be doing much of anything. The Dark Lord has _somehow_ found out that my sister and her had the chance to kill Harry Potter and his friends and let them escape. That warrants a death penalty in the eyes of the Dark Lord," Narcissa smirked.

"You're lying, you wouldn't do that to your own sister," Fleur replied, narrowing her eyes. Fenrir let out a throaty chuckle.

"You clearly don't know Cissy," he laughed.

"I've always lived in her shadow… And now… Now she turns her back on me for a Mudblood?" Narcissa said coldly, "She deserves anything that comes to her."

"You're messed up," Fleur said, horrified. Narcissa came and slid beside Fenrir to stand closely to Fleur.

"You have no idea," Narcissa hissed. Her eyes were glittering with a darkness that scared Fleur. If only Fleur could reach the wand holster on her thigh under her skirt. She tried to thrash against Fenrir again and Fenrir moved back, only to be replaced by Narcissa. Narcissa pressed herself up against Fleur and held her wand at Fleur's neck.

"Let me go," Fleur said, thrashing again with a look of disgust. Fenrir laughed from behind Narcissa.

"Struggle all you want, that just makes me enjoy it more," Narcissa drawled, "I want to make you scream."

"Oh, I love watching you play with your toys," Fenrir growled.

Narcissa twirled her wand worldlessly. It glowed white and Narcissa nicked it across Fleur's collarbone, drawing blood. Fleur hissed in pain and tried to push against her again. Narcissa was unexpectedly strong.

"Save your strength, this is going to be a long, painful, drawn out process," Narcissa grinned, licking at the fresh cut on Fleur's collarbone.

Fleur let out an angry, pained wail, which only caused Narcissa to grin wider.

There were flashes of red and Narcissa's wand flew from her hand. She only had time to frown in confusion before a blur of red hair tackled her at a run, releasing Fleur from her grasp.

Fleur wasted no time in withdrawing her wand from its holster, taking in the scene around her. Narcissa was lying on her back on the floor with Ginny on top of her. Ginny had her wand pointed at Narcissa's throat, her hand shaking with anger.

Harry's disarming spell had missed, and he was currently embroiled in a duel with Fenrir. Fleur wanted to help him, but was worried at the level of anger she saw in Ginny.

"I should kill you for what you were about to do to her," Ginny said in a voice trembling with anger. Narcissa smirked.

"She's just a Veela. It doesn't matter what I do to her. What I've done to the others," Narcissa laughed.

Ginny started shaping her wand in a familiar spell.

"Stupefy!" Fleur shouted, stunning Narcissa. Ginny leapt up and faced her.

"Why did you do that? I had it under control," Ginny said, gritting her teeth.

"No you didn't, you were about to kill her," Fleur replied, "I don't want you to let this war change you."

"She… She was about to hurt you… Badly… I couldn't let that happen…" Ginny had tears growing in her eyes, "I couldn't let another friend get tortured and harmed,"

"Gin…" Fleur said softly. But their attention soon turned to the duel between Fenrir and Harry. Fenrir was roaring and slashing curses at a rate Harry was struggling to block. The tide of the duel was turning and Harry needed back up. The girls stepped in, stunning Fenrir while he was distracted throwing a particularly violent spell at Harry. Thankfully, Harry blocked it and Fenrir thudded to the ground, hard.

"Fleur, are you okay?" Harry panted, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"I'm fine, thanks to you two," Fleur replied, a little shaken from her near-miss but determined to press on, "Narcissa has set Hermione and Bellatrix up with Voldemort. She told them that they let you go and he's going to kill them."

"Well… Lets find them then," Harry said, catching his breath, "Before any of the hundreds of Death Eaters find us."


	14. Chapter 14

**_A/N: Hi all, sorry there was such a long hiatus in the middle of this fic! Here is the final part of the story x_**

 **Chapter 13—Resolutions**

* * *

Hermione stood beside Bellatrix in front of Voldemort. They were so close Hermione could hear the air hissing through the narrow slits of his nostrils. He was flanked by McNair and Wormtail.

"I was informed by my dear Narcissa of an event concerning you two," Voldemort said in his dangerous quiet voice. He looked carefully from Bellatrix to Hermione and back again before continuing.

"Bellatrix you assured me that when you recruited Hermione you had gone to lengths to ensure that she would never be unfaithful to our cause… Yet hear I am, hearing that not only was she a traitor… But so were you… You let Harry Potter and his friends go when you had the perfect opportunity to kill them."

"My Lord—" Bellatrix began, but was cut off by Voldemort raising a hand.

"I told you that you couldn't trust a member of the Golden Trio," Wormtail simpered at Voldemort's elbow. Voldemort wordlessly flicked a Crucio at Wormtail, who fell to the floor with a scream.

"To say I am angry would be a drastic understatement," Voldemort continued, "Bellatrix, I considered you to be my most loyal follower. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"It was a mistake that will never happen again, my Lord," Bellatrix said solemnly, bowing her head.

"We are in agreement at least," Voldemort said, beginning to smile, "Never again will either of you be able to cross me."

Hermione suddenly felt the all too familiar searing pain of a cruciatus curse course through her body. She fell to the ground as the sensation coursed through her body. It was like being stabbed by a thousand white hot knives repeatedly. Her mind was overrun with the pain of it all. Hermione had experienced more than her share of cruciatuses, but nothing quite compared to the sheer agony of those delivered by Voldemort himself. She wondered vaguely if it was her screaming or Bellatrix, who was writhing on the ground beside her.

"Unfortunately for you both, I will not allow you the dignity of a quick death," Voldemort said silkily as the pain began to subside. The bright spots that had blurred Hermione's vision began to clear and she tried to catch her breath.

"Crucio," Voldemort intoned with relish, casting the spell again at Hermione and then Bellatrix. Hermione's eyes rolled back in her head with the pain. She was vaguely aware that she had bit her tongue in her agony and there was blood streaming from her mouth.

She waited for the next cruciatus to fall. The Dark Lord always clustered them closer and closer together as he progressed his torture. Hermione had seen many a disloyal follower tortured slowly before the final Avada Kedavra. But the next cruciatus did not come.

Her vision began to clear again and Bellatrix came into focus, leaning over her. She was muttering something with her wand, touching at her own palm before touching Hermione's stomach.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Hermione stuttered.

"Blood magic," Bellatrix smirked, before slipping back into the strange Latin tongue.

Hermione looked tiredly over Bellatrix's shoulder where she was aware of duels breaking out. She could see red hair… A Weasley. A flash of raven hair… Harry. She tried to sit up.

"Not yet," Bellatrix said gently, "Let me finish… He doesn't have any horcruxes left. This is the only chance without killing your friend."

"What…?" Hermione was confused, maybe she was recovering slower from the cruciatus than she usually did.

"Do you trust me?" Bellatrix said softly. Hermione nodded. "Good, because you're the only person I trust in this sorry excuse of a world."

Bellatrix finished her muttering and helped Hermione to her feet. Hermione took in the scene properly for the first time. McNair was dueling furiously with Ginny. They appeared well matched. Both were blocking and shooting curses wildly and neither appeared to have the upper hand. Harry was embroiled in a rather serious duel with Voldemort himself, which caused Hermione's stomach to twist painfully. Their wands seemed to be strangely interacting again. Hermione hoped that would at least temporarily stop them from harming each other. Hermione then turned her attention to the latest newcomer in the room. Fleur.

Her stomach dropped violently but then she felt a surge of pride as she watched the skilled ferocity with which Fleur dueled Wormtail. Within a few more effortless moves as Hermione watched, she had easily stunned Wormtail.

Bellatrix turned and cast a quick locking spell and silencing spell at the doors of the room. Hermione shot her an incredulous look.

"Would you rather hundreds of Death Eaters overhear and then join us?" Bellatrix asked with a quirked smile. Hermione nodded before running to Fleur.

"You're okay?" Hermione panted, looking over Fleur. She noted a nasty cut on her collarbone, but the blonde looked otherwise fine.

"No thanks to Narcissa," Fleur said darkly, "She set us all up."

"I knew it," Hermione said harshly. Suddenly there were brighter flashes as the duels around them intensified. With bright red flashes, almost everyone in the room was disarmed. Suddenly a horrible silence fell around the room.

Voldemort and McNair were aiming their wands at the room.

"Bellatrix, you wanted a chance to prove yourself to me?" Voldemort said with a smile growing, "My dear Bellatrix… Save yourself by proving your loyalty once and for all. Kill these vermin."

Hermione looked worriedly from Bellatrix to the others in the room. They were all disarmed apart from Voldemort, McNair and Bellatrix. Hermione bit her lip and took Fleur's hand tightly. Bellatrix had supported her at their quarters… But could she really deny a direct order from Voldemort?

"That wasn't a suggestion!" Voldemort bellowed, "Kill them all now!"

Bellatrix's grip tightened on her wand. Hermione didn't often see Bellatrix hesitate like this. But then Bellatrix grinned her trademark grin.

"Avada Kedavra," Bellatrix shouted, and a green light lit up the room. Hermione shielded her eyes as Fleur squeezed her hand tightly.

As the light died down again, Hermione's eyebrows raised and she heard gasps in the room. McNair was lying dead on the ground.

"Traitor!" screamed Voldemort with pure fury. His face contorted with rage and hatred, "I have no choice but to destroy the last thing in life you care about!"

With that, he cast a killing curse pointed directly at Hermione. Unarmed Hermione. In the split seconds as it happened, Hermione reflected on her life.

She had wasted so much time keeping her distance from her friends and loved ones to keep them safe. How much longer would she have been able to have Fleur in her life if she had sought out her friends earlier? Had she made the right choices?

As she held Fleur's hand tightly, she had a realization. There was nowhere else she would rather die. Fleur at her side and finally reunited with Ginny and Harry. She shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the inevitable impact of the spell. But it never came.

Hermione opened her eyes. Bellatrix was standing in front of her. Hermione let out a shocked wail and caught Bellatrix in her arms as she fell.

"Bella… Bella… No…" Hermione murmured in disbelief as she lowered Bellatrix's lifeless body to the ground. She brushed the wild tendrils of dark hair off Bellatrix's face before closing her still open eyes.

"Hermione," Fleur prompted softly. Hermione looked up.

Voldemort was standing completely still, clutching his chest. His eyes were wide and he was making a low choking noise.

"What…?" Harry let out a shocked exclamation.

Voldemort slowly fell to his knees, still clutching his chest, before falling face down.

"The… the blood magic… Bellatrix did some weird ancient spell on me as she was helping me up," Hermione blurted. Harry's eyebrows shot up.

"L-like the one my mum did when I was a baby?" Harry exclaimed.

"She… she sacrificed herself for me…" Hermione said slowly, "And now… Now its all over?"

"Its over," Fleur repeated, "Its finally over,"

She threw her arms around Hermione, kissing her fiercely. Hermione was still completely stunned, but as she processed it all, she tightened her arms around Fleur and kissed her back. She was finally free.


End file.
